1.1 Finding a Gap

The research gap

AP Research asks you to address a gap — a question the existing scholarship hasn't fully answered. Your inquiry should add something new to an ongoing conversation, not repeat known findings.

From interest to question

Start with a genuine interest, survey what's known, and find where knowledge is missing, contested, or untested. That gap becomes your research question.

Originality

Original doesn't mean unprecedented — it means your specific question, context, or method contributes something not already established in the literature.

Key terms

Research gap

a question the existing scholarship hasn't answered

Contribution

your inquiry adds something new to a conversation

Finding a gap

look where knowledge is missing, contested, untested

Originality

a new question, context, or method — not total novelty

Avoid

questions already settled by the literature

Try an AP-style question

A gap in the research is…

1. a missing page in a printed source
2. a question prior studies haven't answered
3. a typo found in a published article
4. a topic that is currently popular