Developing Clear Research Aims to Investigate Knowledge Gaps: Giving Purpose to Academic Writing
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This editorial sits in a series aiming to give helpful pointers to those submitting manuscripts for publication to the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology (IJO), in particular early career colleagues starting out in publishing their research (e.g. Bendrey and Mitchell 2024). An issue that sometimes occurs is a submission to the journal which considers an interesting or useful dataset, but which does not respond to a research question, problem or identified gap in existing literature. Such manuscripts may suffer from a range of issues. The absence of a research problem or identified research gap to address reduces the strength of justification for publication; it also impacts ability to develop a compelling narrative. This can leave a study feeling less focused, less important, and descriptive rather than analytical.
DOI: 10.1002/oa.70165
Authors: Robin Bendrey, Piers D. Mitchell
Institutions: University of Edinburgh, University of Cambridge
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7204049432