RESEARCH STARTER

Research-practice gap

The research-practice gap refers to the significant delay between the identification of new evidence-based practices (EBPs) and their actual implementation by professionals in various fields, including medicine, education, and criminal justice. This gap can average up to seventeen years, posing challenges for both researchers and practitioners. Several factors contribute to this delay, such as resistance to change among practitioners, lack of adequate training in new methods, and administrative barriers that hinder the adoption of new practices. Additionally, research studies are often conducted in controlled environments, which may not account for practical challenges faced in real-world settings.

To address this gap, a field known as implementation science has emerged, focusing on strategies to facilitate the effective application of research findings in practice. Implementation science emphasizes the importance of involving practitioners in the research process, understanding the specific challenges they encounter, and fostering supportive infrastructure for change. Efforts in this area include enhancing training for practitioners, clarifying the benefits of EBPs, and advocating for legislative or policy changes that support their implementation. Ultimately, bridging the research-practice gap is crucial for improving outcomes across various sectors by ensuring that effective practices are utilized consistently and effectively.

Full Article

The research-practice gap refers to the time between when new evidence-based practices are identified and when professionals who utilize those practices put them into use. The concept pertains to many fields, including medicine, business, criminal justice, and education. There are various reasons for this gap, including resistance to change, lack of training in new procedures, and administrative structures that make it difficult to implement change. These difficulties have led to the development of a new area of study called implementation science.

Overview

For nearly all industries, there are two important areas: the research area and the practice area. Researchers spend their time studying how tasks are completed in a given field and how they can be improved. Practitioners are the ones who are actively engaged in the field and who will ultimately implement the researchers' findings.

In 2001, medical researchers determined that it takes an average of seventeen years from the time researchers identify a new evidence-based practice (EBP) to the time when professionals implement it. An EBP is the recommendation reached by researchers after conducting studies to test how well one or more practices work. There are similar lengthy gaps in research and practice in industries besides medicine, such as education and psychology. In the mid-2020s, medicine, education, and psychology were among the industries that had seen little improvement.

There are many reasons for the research-practice gap. Experts believe that one reason may be the simple human tendency to resist change. If people have been doing things a certain way for a long time, they may be reluctant to adopt change, and they may find excuses to avoid it even if the new way shows great potential.

Another reason is that since research studies are generally conducted in controlled situations, there may be aspects of the problem faced by practitioners that are not addressed in the study. For example, researchers may determine that a specific test gives the most accurate results when diagnosing a medical condition. However, if the test requires new or expensive equipment, then it may not be widely available for use, or the patient may not have adequate health insurance or the means to pay for the cutting-edge test. Organizational barriers, the complexity of the research, and systemic issues in academia are additional obstacles.

Researchers are taking several approaches to attempt to bridge the research-practice gap. One technique is to include more practitioners in designing and conducting research studies. Another is to ask the practitioners what problems they have faced in implementing specific EBPs and consider them as part of the research. Researchers have also included practitioners while designing their studies to determine what issues these professionals have identified in their practices so the researchers' efforts can focus on addressing them.

Researchers have also developed a new field of study to help minimize the gap between research and practice. This field of study, implementation science, focuses on overcoming the obstacles experienced when moving research findings into the field. Some aspects of implementation science include providing clear explanations of the EBP, promoting the infrastructure that allows EBPs to be implemented (such as championing changes in legislation or insurance practices), improving implementation training for the practitioners, and encouraging practitioner leadership to implement change.


Bibliography

DeAngelis, Tori. "Closing the Gap between Practice and Research." American Psychological Association, June 2010, www.apa.org/monitor/2010/06/gap.aspx. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.

Chays-Amania, Audrey, et al. "Using Implementation Science to Implement Evidence-Based Practice: A Discursive Paper." Journal of Advanced Nursing, doi.org/10.1111/jan.16571. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.

James, Becca, and Damian Ortellado. "Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice in Criminal Justice." Sunlight Foundation, 12 Dec. 2014, sunlightfoundation.com/2014/12/12/bridging-the-gap-between-research-and-practice-in-criminal-justice. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.

Lucyshyn, Joseph M. "Bridging the Research to Practice Gap." Psychology Today, 15 Aug. 2016, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psyched/201608/bridging-the-research-practice-gap. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.

Mallonee, S., et al. "Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice: A Continuing Challenge." Injury Prevention, vol. 6, no. 6, Dec. 2006, pp. 357–59.

Munro, Cindy L., and Richard H. Savel. "Narrowing the 17-Year Research to Practice Gap." American Journal of Critical Care, vol. 25, no. 3, May 2016, pp. 194-196.

Neal, Jennifer, et al. "Brokering the Research-Practice Gap: A Typology." William T. Grant Foundation, 25 Sept. 2015, wtgrantfoundation.org/resource/brokering-the-research-practice-gap-a-typology. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.

Schlicht-Schmälzle, Raphaela, et al. "Bridging the Research-Practice Gap in Education: Initiatives from 3 OECD Countries." OECD Education Working Papers, no. 319, OECD Publishing, 2024.

Paauwe, J., & Van De Voorde, K. "Bridging the Resarch-Practice Gap in Modern Human Resource Management." APA PsycNet, 2025, doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2025.101076. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.


Full Article

The research-practice gap refers to the time between when new evidence-based practices are identified and when professionals who utilize those practices put them into use. The concept pertains to many fields, including medicine, business, criminal justice, and education. There are various reasons for this gap, including resistance to change, lack of training in new procedures, and administrative structures that make it difficult to implement change. These difficulties have led to the development of a new area of study called implementation science.

Overview

For nearly all industries, there are two important areas: the research area and the practice area. Researchers spend their time studying how tasks are completed in a given field and how they can be improved. Practitioners are the ones who are actively engaged in the field and who will ultimately implement the researchers' findings.

In 2001, medical researchers determined that it takes an average of seventeen years from the time researchers identify a new evidence-based practice (EBP) to the time when professionals implement it. An EBP is the recommendation reached by researchers after conducting studies to test how well one or more practices work. There are similar lengthy gaps in research and practice in industries besides medicine, such as education and psychology. In the mid-2020s, medicine, education, and psychology were among the industries that had seen little improvement.

There are many reasons for the research-practice gap. Experts believe that one reason may be the simple human tendency to resist change. If people have been doing things a certain way for a long time, they may be reluctant to adopt change, and they may find excuses to avoid it even if the new way shows great potential.

Another reason is that since research studies are generally conducted in controlled situations, there may be aspects of the problem faced by practitioners that are not addressed in the study. For example, researchers may determine that a specific test gives the most accurate results when diagnosing a medical condition. However, if the test requires new or expensive equipment, then it may not be widely available for use, or the patient may not have adequate health insurance or the means to pay for the cutting-edge test. Organizational barriers, the complexity of the research, and systemic issues in academia are additional obstacles.

Researchers are taking several approaches to attempt to bridge the research-practice gap. One technique is to include more practitioners in designing and conducting research studies. Another is to ask the practitioners what problems they have faced in implementing specific EBPs and consider them as part of the research. Researchers have also included practitioners while designing their studies to determine what issues these professionals have identified in their practices so the researchers' efforts can focus on addressing them.

Researchers have also developed a new field of study to help minimize the gap between research and practice. This field of study, implementation science, focuses on overcoming the obstacles experienced when moving research findings into the field. Some aspects of implementation science include providing clear explanations of the EBP, promoting the infrastructure that allows EBPs to be implemented (such as championing changes in legislation or insurance practices), improving implementation training for the practitioners, and encouraging practitioner leadership to implement change.


Bibliography

DeAngelis, Tori. "Closing the Gap between Practice and Research." American Psychological Association, June 2010, www.apa.org/monitor/2010/06/gap.aspx. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.

Chays-Amania, Audrey, et al. "Using Implementation Science to Implement Evidence-Based Practice: A Discursive Paper." Journal of Advanced Nursing, doi.org/10.1111/jan.16571. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.

James, Becca, and Damian Ortellado. "Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice in Criminal Justice." Sunlight Foundation, 12 Dec. 2014, sunlightfoundation.com/2014/12/12/bridging-the-gap-between-research-and-practice-in-criminal-justice. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.

Lucyshyn, Joseph M. "Bridging the Research to Practice Gap." Psychology Today, 15 Aug. 2016, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psyched/201608/bridging-the-research-practice-gap. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.

Mallonee, S., et al. "Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice: A Continuing Challenge." Injury Prevention, vol. 6, no. 6, Dec. 2006, pp. 357–59.

Munro, Cindy L., and Richard H. Savel. "Narrowing the 17-Year Research to Practice Gap." American Journal of Critical Care, vol. 25, no. 3, May 2016, pp. 194-196.

Neal, Jennifer, et al. "Brokering the Research-Practice Gap: A Typology." William T. Grant Foundation, 25 Sept. 2015, wtgrantfoundation.org/resource/brokering-the-research-practice-gap-a-typology. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.

Schlicht-Schmälzle, Raphaela, et al. "Bridging the Research-Practice Gap in Education: Initiatives from 3 OECD Countries." OECD Education Working Papers, no. 319, OECD Publishing, 2024.

Paauwe, J., & Van De Voorde, K. "Bridging the Resarch-Practice Gap in Modern Human Resource Management." APA PsycNet, 2025, doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2025.101076. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.


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