Identification of the research gap is important for the smooth and successful completion of the research effort. Identifying a research gap is always a critical phase in a researcher’s study process. It is always regarded as a challenging task for a researcher. As a result, iLovePhD highlighted how to identify the research gap and provide advice for doing so in this article.
What is a Research Gap?
- A research gap is a key problem or a question that has not been answered by any of the existing studies within your area of research.
- A research gap exists when there is a new idea that hasn’t been studied before and identification of a good research problem and adopting a clear methodology will lead to breakthrough results.
How do find gaps in research?
- The very first step in gap analysis is to do a systematic review of existing literature relevant to your area of research.
- A comprehensive literature survey would definitely provide a clear understanding of existing works and the gap in your area of research.
- Reading review articles on a particular area of research is important and also it is the easiest way to understand the gap in research in a short time.
- Make note of the questions or gaps that arise while reviewing literature and with that start your research with a clear methodology.
- Another useful way to find the research gap is to focus on the “recommendations for future research” or conclusion section of existing studies in the research or review article.
Keeping track of all the new literature being published every day is a difficult task. So, to make it easy you can check for online literature search tools available for free. Some of the tools are:
- Elsevier’s Scope
- Google Scholar
- PubCrawler
- Feedly
- SAGE Navigator
Tips to Identify the Research Gap
When you read a research or review article, you may come across the following sentences:
…investigation on this is still required/needed….
…it is important to understand this…
…has/have not been reported…
…the key question remains unanswered…
…it is important to address…
These expressions indicate the gaps or issues related to the main question that still needs extensive scientific study. Therefore, it is important to take notice of them and in this way, you can identify the gap in your area of research.
I hope, this article on “How to identify research gap” helps you to find the gap in your research easily.
