Evidence Gap Map — Where Your Evidence Is, and Isn't
Take two dimensions of your PICO framework, cross-tabulate them, and see exactly where your corpus has robust evidence, where it has limited evidence, and where it has none at all. Click any gap to send it to Pulse Research for ongoing monitoring.
What is the Evidence Gap Map?
The Evidence Gap Map is a matrix: one of your PICO domains on the rows, another on the columns. Each cell counts the documents in your corpus that cover both the row term and the column term. Green cells mean robust evidence. Amber means limited. Empty cells are evidence gaps — the combinations your corpus has not addressed at all.
The axes are driven entirely by the domains you've already defined in PICO Analysis — rename a domain there, and the matrix updates instantly. Switch which two domains form the axes at any time.
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From matrix to monitoring
Every empty cell carries a "Monitor →" action. Clicking it sends that combination of terms to Pulse Research, which watches academic publication feeds for new evidence addressing exactly that gap — so you know the moment a gap you identified gets filled, instead of finding out by accident months later.
Export the full matrix as CSV at any time — rows, columns, and document counts per cell — for inclusion in your systematic review's supplementary documentation or your CONITEC/NICE/NCPE/G-BA submission appendix.
Who uses the Evidence Gap Map?
HTA Submissions
Identify and document evidence gaps directly in the format reviewers expect — Population × Intervention, or Comparator × Outcome.
Pharma R&D Strategy
See which patient population × outcome combinations have no supporting literature yet — before committing trial budget to that question.
Systematic Review Authors
Turn "the literature has not addressed X" from a claim into a documented, exportable, peer-reviewable matrix.
Evidence Synthesis Teams
Cross-tabulate any two dimensions of your framework — not limited to the default PICO domains.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need PICO Analysis set up first?
Yes — the Evidence Gap Map reads its rows and columns directly from the domains and terms you've defined in PICO Analysis. Define those first, then switch to Evidence Gap Map.
Can I choose which domains form the matrix?
Yes. Use the axis dropdowns above the matrix to pick any two domains — the matrix rebuilds instantly.
What happens when I click "Monitor" on an empty cell?
The term lists from both the row and column domains for that cell are sent to Pulse Research, which then tracks new academic publications matching those terms.
Is the threshold for "robust" vs "limited" evidence configurable?
The colour coding reflects document count per cell, calculated deterministically from your corpus — the same corpus and settings always produce the same matrix.
Does Evidence Gap Map use AI?
No. Every cell is a document count you can verify by clicking it to see exactly which documents contributed.