Research Intelligence
Validate your research question, identify gaps, and get a mapped VALIDATION score — before investing months of work.
Research Intelligence
Most abandoned systematic reviews fail because the question was flawed from the start. mapped catches that before you begin.
The Research Intelligence module is your first step — and potentially the most valuable. Before you search a single database, mapped validates your research idea against existing literature, identifies genuine gaps, and estimates your likelihood of publication acceptance. Think of it as a feasibility study for your review.
mapped VALIDATION
mapped's Advanced Reasoning Engine evaluates your proposed research question through an 8-stage, 120-point scoring system:
- Novelty assessment — Has this exact review been done? Is it registered in PROSPERO?
- Gap identification — Are there genuine gaps in the current evidence base?
- Clinical relevance — Does the question matter to clinical practice or policy?
- Methodological feasibility — Is there enough primary literature to synthesize?
- Population specificity — Is the target population well-defined and searchable?
- Outcome measurability — Can the primary outcomes be meaningfully pooled?
- Timeline realism — Can this review be completed in a reasonable timeframe?
- Publication viability — Based on journal scope and current editorial priorities
Each stage contributes a weighted score. The final output is a feasibility report with a clear recommendation: proceed, proceed with modifications, or reconsider.
PICOS Framework Generation
Once your idea passes validation, mapped helps you formulate a structured research question using the PICOS framework:
- Population — who are you studying?
- Intervention — what treatment, exposure, or test?
- Comparison — what is the control or alternative?
- Outcome — what are you measuring?
- Study design — which study types will you include?
The AI assists with each component, suggesting inclusion and exclusion criteria based on your research area and existing literature. You review, refine, and confirm.
Gap Analysis
mapped performs an 8-dimensional gap analysis that goes beyond simple novelty checking:
| Dimension | What it examines |
|---|---|
| Temporal | Have relevant studies been published since the last review? |
| Population | Are there understudied subgroups? |
| Intervention | Are there new treatments or dosages not yet reviewed? |
| Outcome | Are there outcomes that previous reviews didn't assess? |
| Methodology | Could a better methodology produce different conclusions? |
| Geographic | Is the evidence limited to certain regions? |
| Setting | Are certain clinical settings underrepresented? |
| Quality | Could higher-quality primary studies change the evidence? |
Each dimension receives a weighted score with strategic recommendations for positioning your review.
PROSPERO Cross-Reference
mapped automatically cross-references your proposed question against the PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews. You'll see:
- Existing registrations with overlapping questions
- Completed reviews that may preempt yours
- Registered but not-yet-completed reviews in the same space
- Opportunities to differentiate your approach
This prevents the painful discovery — three months into your review — that someone published the same thing last quarter.
mapped VALIDATION Score
Based on the combined validation, gap analysis, and PROSPERO data, mapped generates a mapped VALIDATION score. This isn't a guarantee — it's an informed estimate based on:
- Novelty of the research question
- Strength of the identified evidence gap
- Alignment with current journal editorial priorities
- Quality and volume of available primary studies
The output is a downloadable Word report that you can share with supervisors, co-investigators, or ethics committees before committing resources.
Why This Step Matters
The systematic review abandonment rate is estimated at 67%. The most common reason? The question was poorly formulated, the evidence base was insufficient, or someone else published first. Research Intelligence exists to surface those problems on day one — not month six.
Fifteen minutes with this module can save you six months of wasted effort.
Next step: Once your idea is validated, move to Literature Search →