Research Gap

 After compiling together my sources and writing a literature review with them, I have identified a Research Gap in perspectives. Any source I could find that talked about templates usually had done research in the context of education. They discussed how templates could be used in teaching future technical writers. The few that I found taking place in the professional workplace weren't directly about template usage. 

I wrote in my literature review specifically that, "It would benefit the technical writing community greatly if more research were done specifically on the use of technical templates within the workforce and how the use of technical templates affects a writer’s ability to think critically over time." I also added in that research like this could be applied by formulating, "guidelines on when it is appropriate to use templates and how to use them ethically to limit the shrinkage in critical thinking for writers everywhere while still capitalizing on the benefits." I also think that research like this would benefit technical writers because it could help us see what companies are looking for when hiring and how much our critical research skills are needed.