I actually perceive these as two different things.  The knowledge gap is that which needs to be filled by new research either because we know little or nothing.  The research gap to me (and I am an applied researcher) is the gap between the discovery of knowledge relevant to practice and the time it takes to put that information into practice in the field.

Research gap is a problem which has not been addressed so far in a particular field. Context is not the  research gap but one that will surely indicate or lead you to the problem . The reason for you to do research should be a lack or an insufficiency or gap in existing literature.

I would say that a research gap also implies a lack of empirical studies (thus involving a particular context), either from a certain theoretical perspective and or methodological approach.

it is the gap which should be filling by new research to span the differences or spaces between issues, so It is the difference between what is existed knowledge and what is required/targeted and what should be done

i think you know research gap by alot of reading in certain field and by asking expert in this field.

I actually perceive these as two different things.  The knowledge gap is that which needs to be filled by new research either because we know little or nothing.  The research gap to me (and I am an applied researcher) is the gap between the discovery of knowledge relevant to practice and the time it takes to put that information into practice in the field.

Yes, I agree with Cynthia.  Sometimes it takes longer to disseminate outcomes of projects; this is also due to the fact that applications have to be assessed very carefully before publishing the results.

Sanaulla, if you want a practical suggestion for helping to identify the research gap, try a word search for the term 'further research' in existing articles, starting with any research reviews, ideally systematic reviews

For me a research gap involves a missing piece in the progression of a field of research.  What is missing often can be discovered by logic.  Sometimes looking at a field of research with the eye of a different method of study help identify a gap.  I remember working with a graduate student who wanted to do a research project involving labor and delivery.  What we discovered at the time, a few decades ago, no one had researched and asked women what it was like to have a baby during the labor and delivery time.  I also see research gaps as opportunities for researchers.  As valuable as it is to verify previous studies, it is exciting to research an unknown area in a field of study. 

Every research is expected to contribute to knowledge and literature. Knowledge has to do with what is known about the issue of concern while the gap concerns facts that still need to be known. For instance, several factors predict drug use and abuse by adolescents which may be familial, societal or personal/social. if a research on this issue addresses only one of the above mentioned correlates, then there is a gap in knowledge and literature which needs to be filled by conducting further research on the other correlates to present a comprehensive knowledge of the issue at stake. In the same way literature on the issue is not complete until further research is done on the other intervening variables. Gap can also be created in design of the study. A study can be done longitudinally, with appropriate follow up, it can equally be done over a short period  using descriptive, comparative, correlation, case study etc. When one design out of the many is used, there is a gap which need to be filled using other designs to have a comprehensive view of the problem under study, The gap can be in the area of study and population. This is basically due to  differences in culture, environment, social experiences and even population of study. One  can use parents, adolescents, teachers, school administrators for a study on in school adolescent issues in a particular culture. When only  few of the possible population is used in a particular culture, there is a gap in both knowledge( in terms of lack of knowledge of the contributions of the other population not used) and literature( in terms of review of  previous works on the population not used).

Research gap, I think is a subset of knowledge gap. Research gap refers to a knowledge gap that yet to be researched. Knowledge gap, on the other hand, is a wider conception about something that we have not explore, by scientific/academic resaerch or by other means. In academic research knowledge gap is used to highlight general issues which suslly lead to problem statement and research question, while research gap specifically refers to the scientific process of solving the issue or answering the research question which has yet to be carried out. 

I think the area which is unexplored as well as there are certain research deficit areas  or having lacunae in research can be considered as knowledge gap.

I think that research is a tool to fill the knowledge gaps in the particular field. We do research to identify/investigate/explore/improve/discover something. Research is the systematic approach to achieving the goal, which is contribution/knowledge. We add or contribute knowledge or fill the gaps in knowledge through research. If we ask about the research gap, then we usually answer that this has done or not yet done. Ultimately it is the Knowledge. I agree with Rashid mail. Sometimes, we can discover something without a systematic research too.

Dear Sana,

I believe that in applied research, if no problem no need to conduct a research so you do not have a scientific hypothesis that should be proved by doing research.  However, for basic research you may have any idea you may be interested in and do research.  

In social sciences, a research gap is what is justified as a missing link in the existing body of knowledge for which a new research is proposed. this gap must be derived from a critical review and analysis of empirical studies/literature...  

The different between (i) the current state of researched/reported (academically) area of a particular discipline/issue, and (ii) your research question. 

Thank you all for your feedbacks on my question !!

Your knowledge or research gap is the justification for embarking on your research project. understanding the criteria for evaluating your knowledge would shed more light on knowing how to identify gaps in any documented form of knowledge. Science in my own opinion is methodology and the rigour of inference. By implication you could identify gaps in methodology and the inference made by earlier researchers.  Conceptually the maps for knowledge gap could be as follows: 1) non validation of a proposed hypothesis. 2) lack of multiple lines of evidences to support an hypothesis. 3) when results obtained failed to be logically coherent with earlier established and empirically conceptual framework. 4) limited scope of the predictive power of your hypothesis. 5) methodological flaws. 6) when already established theoretical framework failed to explain new findings due to logical inconsistencies. 

Please, the following article: 

Grant, A. M., & Pollock, T. G. (2011). Publishing in AMJ—Part 3: Setting the hook. Academy of Management Journal, 54(5), 873-879.

Research or knowledge gap Means phenomena that have not been studied or covered by research and study

This gap can be determined by a sense of the lack of clarity of the relationship between the variables of these unexplored phenomena

Good luck in advance

If you have a problem in mind please put a proper statement of the problem. Do a proper literature survey and that will help you to understand the research gap in that particular topic.

Try consulting the very thorough discussions in Sandberg J and  Alvesson M (2011) Ways of constructing research questions: gap-spotting or problematization? Organization 18: 1, page(s): 23-44; Alvesson, M and Sandberg, J. Generating Research Questions Through Problematization Academy Of Management Review 2011 36  2 247-271; Mats ALVESSON & Jörgen SANDBERG (2013), Constructing Research Questions: Doing Interesting Research, Los Angeles, CA: Sage;

in my opinion to identified the research gap

gap is the area in which previous researcher are silent. you can develop the theory on the bases of logical assumption which need to address. on the same topic you are applying new methodology to accept or reject your hypothesis on the bases on you research result called methodological gap.

my strategy is to identify the gap is just read the recommendation from the available and current  articles in every article there is recommendation for future research and that recommendation collectively call research gap.

Locke and Golden-Biddle (1997) says that the gap is a rhetoric construction, not an act of mining , not a type of detective work that everyone else has overlooked. You do have to look at the literature and read it incredibly carefully, but at the end of the day, you construct the gap.

This question islinked to the issue of originality: to claim originality and to show that one is making a contribution to knowledge are essential to research from a phd onwards. There is not much point in doing and saying what has already been done and said but one does have to know what has been done and said in order to identify a gap in the literature.

I think this problem is greater in some of the social sciences where unlike the natural sciences, there is no overarching model of cumulativeness within disciplines. See Gill-mclure on RG paper on cumulativeness in IR.

In a sense, the research gap question is a false question as perhaps we need prior epistemological disussions around how to advance theory and the relationship between facts and theories.

Developing originality. Worth reading document.

The concept of knowledge gap is more broader than research gap. To find out the gap in the knowledge, we have to conduct researches. There are many theories and approaches that need examining to explore whether it is or not applicable to a certain situation. Thus, i have the knowledge, but there is insufficient research in this area.

Research Gap an identification of opportunities that are yet to be explored in a research study. in other words we can say that It is the difference between what is existed (knowledge = theories, assumptions, practices) and what is required/targeted (or what should be done). Therefore Research Gap is critical to determine need and necessity of conducting a research. Generally, a Research Gap can be extension or challenge of the existing variable, theories and assumptions.

Dear Zaffar Ahmad Nadaf,

Thank you for adding your views about research gap. Keeping aside the literal understandings of "research gap", the issue here is to distinguish the difference between what is existed and what not. What is claimed to be "not existed", is actually "existed" in some form (for example, replication of research). In that case, how can it be called as "gap".

A research gap is either already there you highlight it, focus on it to become more obvious so you can go throw it and create a research question then you try to answer it through searching it. or you try to create that gap through lack of experimental or clinical knowledge at that area, then you create an area of research.

I am not sure if Research Gap and Knowledge Gap have the same meaning. However, A research gap is defined as a topic or area for which missing or insufficient information limits the ability to reach a conclusion for a question. A research need is defined as a gap that limits the ability of decision-makers (policy-makers, patients, practitioners) from making decisions.

I agree with Tony Mcginn, research gap = further research. Thanks Tony.

I believe that defining what "Knowledge Gap" and "Research Gap" means - is a first step in determining what it is that one is attempting to say in either case. Consider first that knowledge has the root word "know" which can be interpreted to mean that which is already "known" Hence the term knowledge. We have knowledge or we do not. Not having knowledge can be interpreted to mean "knowledge gap." Similarly, "Research Gap" can be expressed in the same manner. When the term "research" is used - I understand it to mean an "action" that must take place - meaning I am actively engaging in the collection of information (i.e., research). In a way, they can have similar meaning because NOT engaging in the research means there is no information collected ... hence, there is no knowledge to be had ... for me its a double edge sword... it is one and the same but then it is not.

When asked to find GAP on a particular subject that means we are looking for what is yet to be known. Right now we have already known something, looking for an unknown portion of the equation. Very powerful to be able to derive one.

I do agree that a case cannot be considered as a gap, rather it just a replication. As a research is conducted in order to address a certain issue or topic that is implied within a case. Hence, the case may be existed in some areas. Doing research means searching for the new topic that has not been researched or insufficient

A Philosophical quandary as in the logical summary is that the research gap and the personal gap of knowledge is different given someone's specific skills or skill set. Begging the question what is the composition for the self or... the composition of the self's location... a good echoed source of the question "because what is know is part of the self... What is the "self"

Thank you for the answers. But how do we close a gap that may not exist or when it seems all the gaps have been filled?

Dear Halima Moses,

Gap always exist in research because here is where we take further theories, technologies, and inventions. Its a quality of a good researcher to find existing gap and rationale for his research.

Gap is the different between what "has been done" and what "should be done". The gap is manifested in the form of research problem (AKA problem statements) that look for solution(s). It is (normally) identified through literature review. Research gap exists as the (human) problem exists (in many form of problems). Therefore we need research to solve the problem. In academic research it is constructed in the form of research statements.

Research gap deals the conceptual understanding or the statement what should be carried out to improvise the field of knowledge and the concept should have feasible solution. Hypothetical or imaginary ideas cannot be a research gap if solution is not possible. Research gap is a problem so should have feasible solution.

A knowledge gap and a research gap are interrelated, there may be the existence of a lack of research on a particle insect for example and the status and distribution of that insect may be unknown so certain knowledge is missing about that insect. The research gap may be the question that arises from the knowledge gap such as the ecological niche of the insect or the role they have in ecosystems.

It's really a good observation. First of all, I need to say that research gap and knowledge gap are not same things. But, from your question, I came to understand that you treated these two things are same... So, I am giving my answer based on your question!!!

Research gap means to find out the gap based on practical and theoretical from the previous literatures and models.

When you will fill up these gaps with formulated hypotheses and tests these hypotheses, the findings of those hypotheses are basically your body of knowledge or contributions.

Both, theoretical and practical gaps are important but recently, all of the good journals are focusing more on theoretical gaps and contributions.

Thanks

A research gap is defined as a topic or area for which missing or insufficient information limits the ability to reach a conclusion for a question. A research need is defined as a gap that limits the ability of decision-makers (policy-makers, patients, practitioners) from making decisions.

What is Research Gap?

Today we are talking about the research gap: what is it, how to identify it, and how to make use of it so that you can pursue innovative research. Now, how many of you have ever felt you had discovered a new and exciting research question, only to find that it had already been written about?

A research gap is, simply, a topic or area for which missing or insufficient information limits the ability to reach a conclusion for a question. It should not be confused with a research question, however. For example, if we ask the research question of what the healthiest diet for humans s, we would find many studies and possible answers to this question. On the other hand, if we were to ask the research question of what are the effects of antidepressants on pregnant women, we would not find much-existing data. This is a research gap. When we identify a research gap, we identify a direction for potentially new and exciting research...

https://www.enago.com/academy/identifying-research-gaps-to-pursue-innovative-research/

Dear Tamer Mohammad Al-Jarrah , it is pure plagiarism when you do copy/paste without citing the resource which was used. In future, please bring the appropriate links. I will do it now.

" A research gap is defined as a topic or area for which missing or insufficient information limits the ability to reach a conclusion for a question. A research need is defined as a gap that limits the ability of decision-makers (policy-makers, patients, practitioners) from making decisions."

https://www.nccmt.ca/knowledge-repositories/search/118

I always like to use the term practical gap and literature gap to better distinguish those. To my humble understanding, both constitute research gaps. Ideally, gaps should be derived at but not constructed which means it is identified through highly intellectually thorough process.

i would like add something to what has been mentioned by the researchers here .. i think also the gap either research or knowledge gap, it can be inferred based on our own understanding and perspective of the issue, and it can be written by the same way we understand it, and then we use our own way of writing to present it as a gap.

The knowledge gap is the identification of what is not sufficiently known about a subject; research gaps is similar, but would look more about deficits in research (if we assume that research is there to create new knowledge, then research and knowledge gaps are very close to each other). gaps are usually identified through a thorough review of the existing literature. Here we learn what important questions have not been answered yet.....

Sanaullah Panezai

Previous studies may have not tackle an issue in a certain context. Therefore, little is known about that issue. A research is needed to bridge this gap by investigating on the issue in that context (Let's say Albanian context, for instance). Hope I've helped. All the best!

Research gap is the research agenda in (a) Population, (b) Intervention, (c) Comparison, (d) Outcomes, and (e) Setting. Other research gaps include (a) Contradictory Evidence Gap; (b) Knowledge Void Gap; (c) Action-Knowledge Conflict Gap; (d) Methodological Gap; (e) Evaluation Void Gap; and (f) Theory Application Void Gap

Dear Antony Odek Wando , have you used this resource for your contribution?

Article ARTICLE: "Research Methods and Strategies Workshop: A Taxono...

Research gap means the limitation of existing work, empirical works to describe a theory or phenomenon. On the other hand Knowledge gap can be defined as the insufficient amount of knowledge about anything.

A knowledge gap is a discrepancy between what is known and what should be known. This can be achieved through tackling previous studies to identify what is missing in either methodology, theory and literature in general.

Thank you for information

Thank you so much

a research or knowledge gap can be developed from a research problem by deconstruction the research discipline and philosophizing the normal problem by searching what is missing in the body of evidence.

• According to me Knowledge gap can be restricted to understanding of a person specific in particular topic/subject /content etc . But research gap is what has not been studied or researched on that particular topic/subject/content . Knowledge gap can be filled by research while to fill research gap another research is required.

A lot depends upon the nature of research problem, theoretical as well as applied. However, broadly research gap is the vacuum between the prevalent knowledge, research findings or available literature and the research problem proposed to be studied. The gap is urgent since its absence would tantamount to repetition of research exercise. It could be presented by defining the available knowledge, by reviewing the literature and underlining its limitations and developing the scope of proposed study or project.

Research gap is a research question or problem which has not been answered appropriately or at all in a given field of study. Research gap is actually what makes your research publishable, why? Because it shows you are not just duplicating existing research; it shows you have a deep understanding of the status of the body of knowledge in your chosen field; and finally it shows that you have conducted a research which fulfills that gap in the literature...

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140912150946-275561203-6-very-useful-approaches-to-identify-research-gaps-and-generate-research-questions/#targetText=Research%20gap%20is%20a%20research,a%20given%20field%20of%20study.