Table 2:
Ignorance Taxonomy: definitions, knowledge goals, example cues, and total cue count. The categories in bold are only narrow categories. Abbreviations are in italics.
| Ignorance Category | Definition | Knowledge Goal | Example Cues | Total Cues |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indication of answered research question | A statement of a goal or objective of a study that is attempted or completed during the study. | to find the answer(s) in the article; determine if the question(s) is (are) fully answered in the article | aim, goal, objective, our study, sought, to determine | 64 |
| indication of unknown or novel research topic or assertion | A statement that indicates something is not known (a lack of information), or information is presented for the first time (new or novel) and a significant amount of research is needed; not a statement about the absence of something. | to explore the unknown further to gain any insights | could not find, don’t know, elusive, not...established, uncertain, still unclear | 155 |
| indication of explicit research inquiry | An explicit statement of inquiry (with a question mark or question word such as how, where, what, why). | to find answers to the question and/or discover methodologies that will help answer the question | ?, what, where, wondered, why | 19 |
| indication of proposed or incompletely understood research topic or assertion | A positive or negative statement proposing a possible/feasible explanation for a phenomenon on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation OR a statement that information is needed to support an assertion or claim, including both positive and negative statements. Either a statement that some evidence already exists, explaining how current findings support previous work, adding confidence to a claim OR a statement that information is limited, more research is needed or is ongoing including limitations – biases or shortcomings related to the study design and execution. | to gather more evidence to support the claim OR conduct more research to determine the validity of the claim; complete the partial picture; consider the shortcomings and biases for the next experiment and how it can be addressed. | a good understanding, believe, evidence...limited, has been suggested, hypothesis, no studies, possibly, preliminary stage, remains under investigation, still being discovered, support, trend | 797 |
| indication of indefinite relationship among research variables | A statement about a connection, link, or association between at least two variables; connectedness between entities and/or interactions representing their relatedness or influence. | to confirm the connection, link, or association between variables; determine the full underlying relationship between variables | affect, associated, correlate, factor, influence, interact, link, pattern, tend | 198 |
| indication of largely understood research topic or assertion | A statement staking a claim to the most likely explanation, relationship, or phenomenon; assumes that there is a good chance this understanding is correct. | to determine if the most likely option is correct or if another option is more feasible | almost all, assumed, concluding, evident, it is clear, most likely, thus | 202 |
| indication of anomalous or curious research finding | A statement of a surprising result, conclusion, observation or situation; the researchers were not expecting the result, conclusion, observation or situation but are intrigued by it. | to explore the surprising result, conclusion, or situation more and determine if the result, conclusion, observation, or situation is repeatable | appeared to be, interestingly, noteworthy, surprisingly | 113 |
| indication of alternative research options or controversy of research | Either an explicit statement of multiple (at least two) choices, actions, approaches, or methods that need to be experimentally determined, including statements with an implied second option, such as “whether”. This includes a statement of disagreement amongst researchers OR a lack of consensus OR at least two possible answers presented as results from different researchers, usually in reference to previous results and stated when results contradict or disagree with each other. | to determine the correct option or a better option and if there are disagreements, to determine the truth to break any disagreements | cannot rule out, claims, has been challenged, whether, whilst | 221 |
| indication of difficult research task | A statement of something not easily done, accomplished, comprehended, or solved; or a complicated thing with a multitude of underlying pieces or parts; heterogeneity; excludes medical complications. | to create methods to study the complicated system and to better understand any piece of the complicated system; potentially requires new experiments or better techniques | not feasible, remains...challenge, variability, rarely able to | 98 |
| indication of research problem or complication | A statement of issues, problems, mistakes, or medical complications that are cause for anxiety and/or worry. | to determine the gravity of the concern and determine if it needs to be dealt with before the next experiment or study | issue, error, insufficient, lack of reproducibility, publication bias, underestimated | 98 |
| indication of future research work | A statement of extensions, including next steps, directions, opportunities, approaches, or considerations of the described work that may be implemented at some future time point. This also includes a statement of suggestion or a proposal as to the next best course of action, especially one put forward by an authoritative body; advice telling someone the best action to take. | to determine the next course of action based on this future work proposal | additional research, are needed, continue to explore, further study, more...studies, recommend, warrants, worthy of closer attention | 258 |
| indication of future research prediction | A statement of extrapolation of given data into the future and/or from past observations, without reference to next steps. | to run the simulation or experiment to determine if the prediction is correct; publicize the outcomes of the study to the correct people | allow, expect, if so, serve as a basis, will | 27 |
| indication of important consideration for future research work | A statement calling for attention including an action needed to be taken immediately or information that needs to be disseminated immediately OR is critical: being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency OR urgently needed OR absolutely necessary. | to take the urgent action ASAP or distribute the knowledge ASAP | call for action, cautious, crucial, emphasis, global problem, high on the agenda, necessary, relevant to note, vital | 263 |