How to Find Strong Research Gaps in Under 30 Seconds Using AnswerThis

Finding a meaningful research gap used to take hours of digging through papers, scanning abstracts, and wondering if the gap you think you found actually exists. But now, with AnswerThis, you can uncover verified, citation-backed research gaps in literally seconds. In fact watch this 30 second video to see how:

In this quick walkthrough, I’ll show you exactly how to use AnswerThis’ Research Gap Finder, how to understand the results, and how to dig deeper so you end up with research gaps that are legitimate, relevant, and backed by real literature.

Let’s jump in.

Step 1: Open AnswerThis and Find the Research Gap Finder

Once you’re inside AnswerThis, open the Agents tab and click on the Research Gap Finder. This tool does exactly what it sounds like, it scans thousands of papers and extracts actual research gaps that scholars have identified, so you aren't guessing or making assumptions.

No need to manually comb through PDFs. The heavy lifting is already done for you.

Step 2: Type Your Topic and Hit Search

Simply type in your topic or key idea.

For example, I looked up research gaps related to AI infrastructure. You can search broad topics, niche topics, or even very specific research domains, AnswerThis will adapt to whatever you give it.

When you’re ready, hit Search.

Within seconds, you’ll get a curated list of research gaps that are backed by real academic sources. No fluff. No invented gaps.

Step 3: Review the Research Gaps (Here’s Where the Magic Happens)

The results appear in a format very similar to the literature reviews that AnswerThis generates. And if you want an even more in-depth walkthrough on how to take advantage of all the papers sourced—and how to make the most out of your answer—you can click inside the review itself for detailed guidance.

Each research gap comes with:

• A clear explanation

• Academic citations

• Direct links to the exact papers

• Keywords and themes

For example, in my search on AI infrastructure, one of the gaps I found was:

“Infrastructure as code governance and AI integration.”

And that was just one. I kept scrolling and found many more, each one backed by multiple papers.

Step 4: Verify Any Research Gap Instantly

This is where AnswerThis becomes almost too convenient.

If you want to validate a research gap, just click the citation. You’ll be taken straight to the exact paper where the gap was identified. You can:

• Read the paper

• Chat with the paper

• Double-check whether the gap is legitimate

• Quickly search the authors and assess reliability

This level of transparency is a game changer, especially if you’re writing a thesis, dissertation, or academic proposal and need rock-solid support for your claims.

Step 5: Dive Deeper

If any of those gaps interest you, you can dig deeper by asking follow up questions. If you don’t like any of the gaps, you can adjust your filters or refine your topic to generate more precise options.

You’re never stuck with the first list, the tool is built for iteration.

Final Thoughts

Finding a research gap doesn’t need to feel overwhelming. With AnswerThis, you can go from topic → verified research gaps → supporting literature in less than a minute.

Whether you’re writing a thesis, exploring a new domain, or trying to position your research for publication, this tool saves you hours and gives you gaps that are actually defensible.

I hope this walkthrough helps, and good luck researching!