Ross Woods, 2022, '24
When looking for a research topic, supervisers frequently advise students to look for gaps in existing research. Gaps come in different kinds, and depending on the circumstances, some kinds of gaps in the following list might overlap or even be the same. However, their purpose is make it easier for you to find gaps, not establish a set of rigid categories. So far, students seem to have tended to look only at category 1.
| Nature of the gap | Your questions to ask | |
|---|---|---|
| . | Nobody has researched this topic and drawn conclusions. | Has this particular topic ever been done before? |
| . | Existing studies have lead to contradictory or inconsistent conclusions. | What studies have been done? Are their conclusions consistent? Could we do the research in a different way that would achieve better results? |
| . | Existing studies have been inconclusive or failed to produce an outcome. | Why were those studies inconclusive? Could we do the research in a different way that would achieve better results? |
| . | The theoretical basis now exists, but nobody has tested whether it will work in practice. | Has this theory been tested? Does in work in practice? If it doesn't work in practice, why? |
| . | Professional practices are inconsistent with current research findings. | How do current professional practices compare with current research? If they are inconsistent, why? |
| . | Research findings do not cover current professional practices. | Which current professional practices have inadequate research support? |
| . | Various research methods are necessary to generate new insights. | Would a different research method generate new insights? If so, which method(s) would be most useful? |
| . | Various research methods are necessary to avoid distorted findings. | Would a different research method give a less distorted finding? If so, which method(s) would be most useful? |
| . | Current research findings or propositions need evaluation and empirical testing. | What weaknesses in current research findings or propositions would require evaluation and/or empirical testing? |
| . | Application of theory would generate new insights. This is especially the case if previous research was based on theories that have since been modified. Besides, it would modify the theory if application is not exactly the same as predicted by the theory. | Could we do an implementation or application study? |
| . | A particular population has not yet been adquately represented in research. If the results in a different population were not exactly the same as predicted by the theory, they would lead to a modification of the theory. | Could we do the research in a different population? Could it lead to different results? |
| . | Perhaps previous research was done with a very narrowly-defined or small population. | Could we do the research in a much more broadly-defined population, or could we compare several populations? Could it lead to different results? |
| . | The results of a qualitative study might be suitable for testing with quantitative research. | Could we treat the results of a qualitative research as an hypothesis and test it with quantitative methodology? |
| . | Existing theory does not adequately explain the phenomenon. | Does existing theory adequately explain the phenomenon? What particular aspects are deficient? |
| . | Existing knowledge does not answer a particular question. | What is the question? Could the question be expressed better? What are the limits of existing knowledge? What are the particular deficiencies? Can you define exactly what they are? |
| . | One scholar is the dominant voice in the field. | Could alternative views be beneficial? What particular idiosyncrcies that the dominant voice have? Does the dominant voice reflect a specific historical or cultural background? |
| . | Lots of empirical studies been done but the overarching theory is inadequate. | What has been done in empirical studies? Are there themes or patterns? What are the particular deficiencies of current theories? |
| . | A particualr research method been never been tried for this problem. | Has this research method been tried for this problem? Could it produce diffierent or complementary results? |
| . | Could other research variables or conditions apply to this problem? | What is the exact nature of the problem? What aspects of these variables or conditions could create new results? |
| . | Instrument A has never been tried in situation B. | How will instrument X work in situation Y? What are the criteria for work? Why or why not? |
| . | Method C has never been tried in situation D. | Will the new method C work in situation D? What are the criteria for work? Why or why not? |
References: Rοbinsοn, Sαldαnhεα & McKοy, 2011; Jαcοbs, 2011; Mullεr-Blοch & Krαnz, 2014; Milεs 2017, Mαllαm Αwαl, 2022, Jαne Αbαο, 2022.