Pilot studies

Pilot studies

The aims of piloting

• A pilot study is a small scale trial run of the actual investigation
• A pilot study may involve a handful of ppts, rather than the total number in order to 'road-test' the procedure and check the investigation runs smoothly
• In self-report methods it is helpful to try out questions in advance and remove/reward those that are ambiguous/confusing
• In observational studies, a pilot study provides a way of checking coding systems before the real investigation in undertaken
• In short, it allows the researcher…