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Arianna Dotson When a researcher finds a gap in the literature, they have found a section in the literature where several subjects of interest do not overlap. This unexplored area is what the current research seeks to fill. McIndoo, 2014, explains that, “like a hole in the donut, the gap is defined by what surrounds it.” This is a great description of a research gap. Personally, I visualize the research gap as three venn diagrams overlapping one another. The section at the very center of the diagrams would be the research gap.    Finding the research gap is just the beginning of the dissertation process. Once you think you have found a gap in the literature, do searches to make sure no one has done the study you are considering (Stadtlander, 2015, p. 6). After a precise and exhaustive search is conducted, the research problem can then be identified based upon the areas of your topic that have not been studied (McIndoo, 2014). The research problem will help explain how a specific area (social problem) can begin to be improved upon based on what the information the previous literature provides. In last weeks’ discussion I described the research problem as a smaller section of the social problem that the researcher can begin to look into. The research gap helps support the research problem, which helps to support the social problem. Beginning in the early phases, all three components are interconnected within the dissertation process.  I have identified my research gap by using the venn diagram method (mentioned above) with topics that interested me. I began my process with very broad topics, and began to narrow them. Currently my main sections are labeled, child maltreatment/child victims, family violence, psychological-emotional abuse. I have narrowed the gap down to the following: The literature does not depict how emotional spiritual abuse affects victims within the African American Christian community. I have been able to find literature on spiritual abuse; however, it centers on specific communities, and different types of spiritual abuse (i.e. sexual). My proposed study would take a comprehensive look at the experiences of African American Christians who have experienced this particular type of emotional abuse. I plan to have adults recall situations from their adolescent years and explain how their experiences have impacted them. This will help me to start the larger conversation of how emotional abuse can have lasting impacts on its victims   References     McIndoo, T. (2014, July 8). Defining a gap in the literature: On proving the presence of an absence [Blog post]. Walden University Writing Center. Retrieved from http://waldenwritingcenter.blogspot.com/2014/07/defining-gap-in-literature-on-proving.html   Stadtlander, L. M. (2015). Finding your way to a Ph.D.: Advice from the dissertation mentor. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Amanda Burrell As doctoral students, we often hear that our dissertation topic must address a gap in the literature. To meet this requirement, it is vital to understand what it means to “find a gap in the literature”. To find a gap in the literature indicates that a research problem has been identified which isn’t addressed in the current literature. The gap in literature refers to the area(s) that are not known about a topic or area of interest. To state, with confidence, that there is indeed a gap in the literature, a writer/researcher must first exhaustively explore the current literature related to their area of interest (McIndoo, 2014).   Identifying the gap in literature is an important step in supporting a research problem because it serves as evidence that it is, in fact, a problem. A research problem refers to an area of interest that one studies to learn more about (Walden, 2016). If a specific problem may be studied through the existing research alone, the question becomes, is there a need for additional research to be conducted? The goal of completing a dissertation and the research that is incorporated into it, is to contribute additional knowledge to the existing literature. This is achieved by a writer identifying the gap in the literature and then filling that gap with their research that address the research problem they have identified.   To identify a gap in literature, Dr. Eric Hickey suggests that writers utilize a funnel (Laureate Education, 2016). This funneling is a process in which you start with a general problem in which the existing research helps to explain, and then narrow that problem down to a specific research problem that is identified through the gap in the existing literature.     Resource Laureate Education (Producer). (2016). Identifying gaps in the literature [Video file] Baltimore, MD: Author McIndoo, T. (2014, July 8). Defining a gap in the literature: On proving the presence of an absence [Blog post]. Walden University Writing Center. Retrieved from http:www.dphu.org/uploads/attachments/books/books_71_0.pdf Walden University Center for Research Quality. (2016, July 26). Developing social problems               into research problems for graduate studies [Video file]. Retrieved from                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udfldYXvUxw