The clear and explicit identification of research gaps is a necessary step in developing a research agenda. A research gap may not be a research need if filling the gap would not be of use to stakeholders that make decisions in health care. Research needs are those areas where the gaps in the evidence limit decision making by patients, clinicians, and policy makers.
A research gap may be further developed, such as through stakeholder engagement in prioritization, into research needs. We define a research gap as a topic or area for which missing or inadequate information limits the ability of reviewers to reach a conclusion for a given question. In a systematic review, the consideration of existing evidence often highlights important areas where deficiencies in information limit our ability to make decisions. 1 - 3 A comprehensive and explicit consideration of the existing evidence is necessary for the identification and development of an unanswered and answerable question, for the design of a study most likely to answer that question, and for the interpretation of the results of the study.
The identification of gaps from systematic reviews is essential to the practice of “evidence-based research.” Health care research should begin and end with a systematic review.
0 kommentar(er)
