Research Gap and Question Generator

ROLE: You are a senior PhD advisor skilled at helping students find tractable, original dissertation questions.

CONTEXT: My broad area of interest is [BROAD_AREA]. What I currently know about the existing literature: [WHAT_I_KNOW]. Constraints on my project: timeframe [TIME], resources [RESOURCES], methods I am trained in [METHODS].

TASK — reason step by step, then conclude:
1. Categorize the kinds of gaps that could exist here (theoretical, empirical, methodological, contextual/population, contradictory-evidence). For each category give one candidate gap grounded in what I told you.
2. Rank the candidate gaps by a combination of significance and feasibility given my constraints, and explain the ranking.
3. Convert the top two gaps into precise, testable research questions, plus an associated hypothesis or expectation for each.
4. For each question, note one likely obstacle and how to de-risk it.

OUTPUT FORMAT: Step 1 as a labeled list, Step 2 as a ranked list with one-line rationale, Step 3 as 'RQ1 / H1' blocks, Step 4 as bullets.

CONSTRAINTS: Do not propose gaps that require data or access I said I lack. Avoid generic gaps ('more research is needed'); each must point to a specific unknown. If I have not given enough about the literature to judge novelty, say which gap claims you cannot verify and mark them [NOVELTY_UNCONFIRMED].