Literature Gap Identification Skill

Purpose

Systematically identify and prioritize research gaps from literature synthesis.

Types of Research Gaps

1. Knowledge Gaps

• Phenomenon not yet studied
• Understudied populations
• Unexplored contexts

2. Methodological Gaps

• Lack of rigorous designs (RCTs)
• Limited longitudinal studies
• Need for mixed methods

3. Theoretical Gaps

• Competing theories not tested
• Mechanisms not understood
• Mediators/moderators unexplored

4. Practice Gaps

• Interventions not tested
• Implementation not studied
• Scalability unknown

5. Evidence Quality Gaps

• High risk of bias in existing studies
• Small sample sizes
• Inconsistent results needing resolution

Gap Analysis Process

1. Synthesize Findings: What do we know?
2. Identify Limitations: What are the weaknesses?
3. Find Patterns: What's consistently missing?
4. Prioritize: Which gaps are most important?
5. Justify: Why does this gap matter?

Example

Research Area: Mindfulness interventions for anxiety

Gaps Identified:

1. Few studies in adolescent populations (knowledge gap)
2. Lack of active control comparisons (methodological gap)
3. Mechanisms of action unclear (theoretical gap)
4. No implementation studies in schools (practice gap)
5. High attrition rates not addressed (evidence quality gap)

Prioritized Gap: Adolescent populations with active controls

• Feasible, high impact, fills critical knowledge void

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