Can You Identify Research Gaps? ❤️

The Map & The Gap in Research Writing!

Can you identify Research Gaps before you go ahead and engage yourself in academic research?

Remember! Identifying the research gap is crucial before you venture into serious research. 

First, let us take a look at the research question.

Well, an important constituent of a good research work is the development of a carefully formulated research question.

Good research questions are capable of triggering a beehive of intellectual activity. They not only help in critical reflection, but also open up a slew of discussions and debates on the topic.

Moreover, innovative research questions have the capacity to challenge conventional assumptions and age-old beliefs.

Now, let us look into the research gap!

While a research question acts as a road map that provides direction for new research, the research gap is considered the birthplace for research questions/ research topics.

In short, a research gap is a field of study in which there is a lack of existing research or knowledge on a particular concept.

To sum it up, identifying the research gap becomes a very important part of a good research, as it can help bridge gaps in existing literature, and a good research question is one that addresses the research gap and the research problem.

Now consider these two articles from the Times of India, Chennai Edition.

Read them carefully… Here we go!

Gaps in special education research in India prompted researchers and educators to establish the India Inclusion Research Network (IIRN) in the city on Saturday.

Former national security advisor M K Narayanan launched the forum, which will address policies that help children with special needs holistically.

“Inclusive education benefits the learning needs and creates an enriching environment. We have to support policies that help children with special needs, and these policies must be grounded in robust research,” he said.

Lack of guidance for writing and publishing research and peer discussion are major hurdles in advancing the field, experts said.

“There is hardly any indigenous research. We need qualitative and mixed methods research in special education,” said Himanshu Das, professor at the school of special education and rehabilitation science, SKD University.

To address this gap, Sankalp, a special school under the department of welfare of differently abled persons, brought together educators, researchers, and parents. Richard Rose, professor of inclusive education at Northampton University, said curricula should focus on holistic approaches to ensure equity and access for learners with diverse needs.

Gitanjali Govindarajan, founder of Snehadhara Foundation, introduced her Arts Practices for Inclusion (API) programme, which integrates therapeutic arts practices to promote social inclusion.

The Research Question hence includes the research gap and the problem as well.

Now read the next article –

Avid texters will soon have a new way to talk about the growing impacts of climate change: an emoji depicting a tree without leaves.

Approval of the emoji was revealed in an update earlier this year from the Unicode Consortium.

The leafless tree — also known as the “dead tree” or “dying tree” emoji — was first pitched in 2022 by Brian Baihaki, who saw a gap in messaging graphics that touch on environmentalism.

“That something from 2022… is still relevant today actually speaks to the longstanding relevancy of the concept,” says Jennifer Daniel, chair of the emoji subcommittee at the Unicode Consortium. “Because two years in digital space might as well be 200 years.”

Emoji may not be high on the list of tools needed to combat the impacts of climate change, but the dead tree reflects people’s need to communicate about those impacts, says Scott Varda, an associate professor of communication at Baylor University.

“An emoji like the leafless tree emoji has the possibility to create awareness of climate change as a problem,” Varda says, though he’s “concerned that it does not fix any of the larger messaging issues.”

The leafless tree is one of seven new emoji that will be available on phones in the first half of 2025, joining a fingerprint, a harp, a splat, a shovel, a root vegetable and a face with bags under its eyes.

Source: Times of India, Chennai Edition, 22 Sept 2024

These two articles would help provide a clear overview to identifying the research gap and the research problem before you go ahead and frame the research question and the thesis statement.

Here’s wishing you the best in your tryst with your research!