Underresearched

Underresearched is an informal descriptor used in academia and policy discussions to refer to topics, populations, regions, or phenomena that have received relatively little research attention, data collection, or funding compared with more established areas. It is not a formal classification or metric, but it signals knowledge gaps that may affect understanding, policy, or practice.

Contexts include rare diseases, minority languages, indigenous communities, small or remote ecosystems, certain socioeconomic outcomes, early-stage technologies, or regions with limited data infrastructure. The term is often used in literature reviews, research funding strategies, and foresight exercises to identify priorities. Measurement is approximate and may rely on proxies such as publication counts, grant allocations, data availability, or citation gaps.

Causes of underresearch include uneven funding priorities, methodological challenges, data scarcity, language barriers, regulatory or ethical obstacles, and limited local research infrastructure. Consequences can include incomplete evidence bases, biased risk assessments, misallocation of resources, and perpetuation of inequities in knowledge production.

Efforts to address underresearched areas focus on systematic mapping and scoping reviews to identify gaps, priority-setting exercises, targeted funding programs, international collaboration, open data and data-sharing initiatives, capacity building, and citizen science. Methodological approaches such as rapid reviews, horizon scanning, and adaptive research designs can help accelerate attention to underresearched topics while maintaining rigor.

In sum, underresearched denotes knowledge gaps within the research landscape, highlighting areas where enhanced attention could improve understanding and inform better decision-making.