Purpose: The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual and methodological framework for identifying research gaps in the social sciences, with illustrative reference to management, marketing, psychology, and sociology. Methods: The article applies a critical integrative review of the literature on major strategies for identifying research gaps, including systematic literature reviews, bibliometric analyses, narrative syntheses, and hybrid approaches. These strategies are compared in terms of their strengths, limitations, and usefulness in interdisciplinary research. Results: The paper proposes a five-step framework consisting of exploration, systematization, triangulation, interpretation, and application. The model integrates quantitative and qualitative approaches and introduces criteria for moving between stages. It enables the identification of empirical, theoretical, methodological, and contextual gaps and supports the transition from recognizing a scientific problem to formulating research recommendations. Discussion: The proposed framework should be treated as a conceptual and methodological tool rather than an empirically validated model. Its value lies in organizing the process of identifying the research gap and linking diagnosis, interpretation, and application. Further studies should test the model in different disciplines, types of literature reviews, and research contexts.