7 Types of Research Gaps in Literature Review | Examples

This article discusses the 7 types of research gaps with examples and the situation in which its application is required. In the end this article explains how you can write research gaps in your research thesis/ dissertation.

Most researchers have struggled with the concept of identifying research gaps. There were no official or established frameworks for identifying or describing research gaps for a long time. The existence of research gaps appears to be in the eye of the beholder. The gap of one researcher may be the non-gap of another. The majority of this disagreement over research gaps is based on perception. Most researchers, particularly doctoral researchers, still struggle to identify and describe gaps in their studies.

Research gaps should be organized and classified based on their usefulness.  As a result, researchers now have a fundamental framework for identifying them in the literature. Miles (2017) suggested a model which consists of seven research gaps.

• Evidence Gap

• Knowledge Gap

• Practical-Knowledge Conflict Gap

• Empirical Gap

• Theoretical Gap

• Methodological Gap

• Population Gap

7 Types of Research Gaps

Evidence Gap

A startling exception creates an evidence gap when a new research finding contradicts widely accepted conclusions. This gap is caused by inconsistencies in previous research findings.

It arises when study data allow for conclusions in and of themselves, but are contradictory when considered from a more abstract perspective.

The process of identifying contradicting evidence begins with an examination of each research area. The findings of these analyses must then be combined in order to uncover contradicting evidence.

✔ Evidence Gap is known as Contradictory Evidence Gap

Knowledge Gap

The knowledge gap is a common gap in previous research. There are two conditions in which a knowledge void might exist.

• First, it’s possible that the actual field lacks an understanding of theories and literature from related research fields.

• Second, it’s possible that a study’s findings are different from what was predicted.

✔ Knowledge Gap is known as Knowledge Void Gap

Practical-Knowledge Conflict Gap

This kind of gap serves as an inspiration for new research in the field.
When an expert behaves differently than what they propose, a practical-knowledge (action-knowledge) conflict results.
In this situation, the purpose of the research might be to determine the scope of the conflict and its causes.

✔ Practical-Knowledge is known as Conflict Gap Action-Knowledge Conflict Gap

Empirical Gap

The kind of gap that addresses gaps in previous research is an empirical gap.  This gap relates to study conclusions or claims that need to be assessed or experimentally confirmed.

For instance, concerns that no study has clearly attempted to examine a subject or topic from an empirical method are frequently addressed by the empirical gap.

✔ Empirical Gap is known as Evaluation Void Gap

Theoretical Gap

The type of gap known as a theoretical gap is one that deals with the gaps between theory and earlier research.

For instance, A gap conflict might exist if different theoretical models are being used to describe the same fact or phenomena, much like a methodological gap conflict.

Scholars could evaluate which of those theories is more superior in terms of the gap in the existing body of knowledge.
When analyzing previous research on a phenomenon or fact, theoretical gaps are frequently used.

✔ Theoretical Gap is known as Theory Application Void Gap

Methodological Gap

A methodological gap is the kind of gap that addresses the contradiction that arises as a result of the methodology’s influence on study findings.

This gap examines the issues with the research methodologies used in the earlier studies and presents a brand-new research direction that deviates from those research methods. It is emphasized that it may be beneficial to use a variety of research methods, particularly if particular study topics have been investigated using a single or common method.

✔ Methodological Gap is known as Methodology Void Gap.

Population Gap

A common gap discovered by researchers is a population gap. There are always populations that are underserved and understudied.
This gap is the type of population-related research Population such as gender, race and age that is either not well represented in the evidence base or is under-researched.

✔ Population gap is known as Under-researched Sub-Groups Gap.

Research Gap Types

Research Gap Types	Type of Research gap used
Evidence Gap	Study results are incongruent and do not support conclusions in their own right if seen from a more abstract perspective,
Knowledge Gap	The desired research results are not available.
Practical-Knowledge Conflict Gap	Professional behavior or procedures differ from research conclusions or are not investigated by research.
Empirical Gap	empirical testing of research conclusions or hypotheses is required.
Theoretical Gap	To develop new insight, theory should be applied to specific research problems. A gap exists because there is a lack of theory.
Methodological Gap	It is vital to use a variety of research methods to produce new insights or to prevent inconsistent results.
Population Gap	Research pertaining to the population that is not sufficiently represented or under-researched in the evidence base or earlier research

Learn how to Identify Research Gap : Find Research Gap from Research Articles

Steps to Write Research Gaps in your Research

Below are the steps which would help you to identify research gaps in your study and the method of writing research gaps in your research proposal, thesis or dissertation with the help of examples.

1-Discuss some of the Previous Research

You must first mention some of the earlier research in the literature that does not address the specific topic of the research before you can examine the gaps in the preceding literature. The contributions should be related to the already-identified contradictions, gaps, and issues.

There have been various aspects of _______ that have been studied in the past, including (1) (cite two to three articles), (2) (cite two to three articles), and (3) (cite two to three articles).

2-Identify Important Gaps

The next step is for researchers to pinpoint any significant gaps, contradictions, or controversies in the literature. This helps to demonstrate the need for more investigation into the subject matter. This task may be completed in a timely manner.

However, in addition, this research (write your research topic) covers a number of unexplored features that recently have drawn research interest in other disciplines  (cite two to three relevant articles)

In the perspective of ___________ , several of these unexplored________ seem significant and worthy of investigation. An investigation of these issues is important because ___________ . Additionally, the main subject of earlier empirical research has been ___________. On ___________ , very little research has been conducted.

3- Write Concluding Statement

The researcher must also clearly express the objectives of the manuscript that he is writing as well as the contributions it makes to the body of knowledge. The statement that identifies gaps, contradictions, and/or arguments in the literature should flow logically into this statement.

In the previous research and literature, the researcher found four significant gaps. First, the researcher found what appeared to be a theoretical hole in earlier studies on _____. Several facets of ______ have been covered in earlier study, including (1) _______ (cite two to three relevant papers), (2) _______ (cite two to three relevant articles), and _____ (3) . (cite two to three relevant articles).

Second, a population gap is evident after reviewing earlier research. A gap exists with _______ . In the earlier studies, this population group has received insufficient attention. Additionally, _______ includes a number of unexplored dimensions that recently have drawn research interest from different fields. (cite two to three relevant articles).

Third, the researcher found what appears to be a knowledge gap in the earlier research concerning _________. Additionally, there are inconsistencies and contradictions in the results of earlier studies that did not deal with the topic of_____. In the perspective of____, several of these undiscovered _______ inconsistencies in the earlier studies seem significant and warrant inquiry. An investigation of   these problems is crucial because _______.

Finally, the researcher found an empirical gap in the earlier studies. The earlier literature is lacking in thorough research. Prior study has mostly concentrated on________  . Very little  research has been conducted on_______ to adequately assess the issue. By addressing the gaps in _______, we aim to offer a new investigation into management practices with the federal government in this study. The study examines the effects of four factors: (1) ______ , _____ (2) ,____ (3), and ______ (4) .

Other articles

Please read through some of our other articles with examples and explanations if you’d like to learn more about research methodology.