Are you in the early phases of your research career and have problems writing a research gap statement? Well, most of the students find it difficult to write it because of no prior experience, or they want it to be unique, well organized, and well written. Of course, no magic wand can do your work; instead, you need to invest time, work hard, and self-reflect to make it stand out from the competition. This article will provide proper guidelines for writing a gap statement and before diving into it, let’s explore it in detail.
What Is A Gap Statement?
You can also call a research gap statement a literature gap. A gap statement is the foundation of your graduate dissertation in which you explicitly explain what, why, and how you will carry out your research work. It is important for your academic career and reflects your skills, expertise, and critical thinking abilities to carry out independent projects.
Once you have developed a gap statement, it is suggested to make a list of unresolved questions that need to be answered. Prioritize specific content and investigate the issue in detail. Your gap statement should be ethical, manageable, and have practical applications. All these core components will make your writing easier and hassle-free process.
Why Should It Be Added?
A literature gap in your dissertation represents the implications of your work and conveys a professional image to the academic world. Consider it a chance to communicate your intellectual outlook to the scholarly world and express innovative ideas. This is why the committee is interested to see your research proposal to assess not only your research abilities but also your capability to think like a scientist.
Tips For Writing A Research Gap Statement:
We have talked enough about defining what and why a research gap statement is necessary for graduate dissertation writing. Now its time to explore how you can actually write it. Not having proper guidance or a plan might be an obstacle in your writing process. Many competent persons are reluctant to do this task. See the following tips to write a good and unique gap statement for your dissertation.
Create A Writing Plan:
Once you have identified the gap in your study, you must be stuck thinking about where to start. Having an outline and scheme will create a sketch in your mind. Try to create a flowchart of different points and headings to see what should be included and excluded in your gap statement of the dissertation. Add important points which are relevant to your headings and write them succinctly. Adding graphical charts, diagrams, and images will simplify things and make them more easily understandable and visually attractive.
Deep Insights Into Literature:
Read published books, research papers, and articles to have a grip on your field. A good literature review will create a good research gap which consequently will help you to write a good statement. Understand the questions of previous researchers, explore the methodologies, and formulate your own queries. Explicitly summarize the scope, nature, and significance of your research.
Adopt Story Writing Style:
Collecting evidence and papers is not enough. You need to understand how to utilize them properly. Your writing should describe the research topic in simpler and storytelling language so readers outside of your subject can easily comprehend the aims and objectives of your study. Imagine a reader grabs attention to your introduction and starts enjoying reading it. It makes them read with curiosity and understand your perspective. Don’t overuse strong vocabulary and sum up important points.
Relevancy To The Topic:
Don’t add any unnecessary data to your statement. Be concise and properly state your research problem. Include relevant information, cite related papers, and stick to the topic till the very end. Adding redundant data might affect the quality of your dissertation. Moreover, the committee will not appreciate your work because of baseless and irrelevant arguments. Try to be more specific, concise, and accurately cover multiple aspects of the topic.
Link Past, Present And Future:
Your research gap statement should not only comprise past researcher’s data. It should be a combination of past, present, and future. Adding previous research papers and data will show that your statement is well supported and based on real existing questions. Your questions and hypothesis will be developed based on past information. Furthermore, the future predictions, outcomes, and expected results will show how your research is applicable in the real world and its contribution to the academic world.
Specify Your Goal:
Another important point while writing your gap statement is to comprehend the research targets. It should describe the aims and objectives of your study and how you will achieve it. Highlight the future directions and impact of the findings. Explore the practical application, opportunities, and limitations your study consists of. Pinpoint your research gap’s questions and present solutions for solving them.
Get Feedback From Seniors:
Lastly, when your graduate dissertation has gone through the writing phase, make sure to get recommendations from your seniors, colleagues, and advisors. They can guide you to polish your statement and highlight insignificant mistakes you don’t think you are in trouble with. Their experience and support will help to achieve your submission goals. Furthermore, avoid any grammatical mistakes, punctuation errors, and plagiarism to escape submission problems.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, writing a research gap statement is not complicated until you have proper guidance and tips. Summarizing your research goals should be the target of writing your statement. Reduce your complications by using simple language with proper formatting and the use of appropriate size, fonts, and margins. The readers of your dissertation are highly qualified committee persons, so don’t be over-efficient in explaining the research outcomes. Try to base your predictions and future results in coherence with reality. Your dissertation is not a burden; but an opportunity to develop strong fundamentals in the scientific research field. You never know that a potential research statement will open new doors to the industrial and academic world.