Q: Please help me in understanding the following question.

Hi Kgaogelo – Welcome to the forum!

Firstly, we have merged your two questions into one as they were both around the same point. Also, as you have asked us to interpret the question, we shall restrict ourselves to that. All the same, we will provide links at the end of our response for you to learn more.

So, what the question means is that you need to explain what the justification of a research is after you have identified research gaps, that is, gaps in existing research (other studies). It’s like this… Identifying gaps in existing studies often leads you to think of an idea for your research. Once you come up with an idea for your research and decide to pursue it, you need to provide the justification (also known as ‘rationale’) for it, which often comes from the gaps you have identified. This is because researchers often tend to address gaps found in existing research through their own research.

Hope that helps. For more information on research gaps and the justification/rationale of research, you may refer to the following resources:

• Identifying research gaps
• How to write the rationale for research?

All the best for your project/assignment!