Pilot studies

• asks whether something can be done, should the researchers proceed with it, and if so, how
• purpose- to prevent researchers from launching a large-scale study without adequate knowledge of the methods proposed.
• in essence, a pilot study is conducted to prevent the occurence of a fatal flaw in a study that is costly in time and money.
• a practise run of the proposed research project
• a pilot study may also give an early indication of whether the results will be statistically significant
• examples- a researcher wants to test attachment type by observing parent and infant behaviour using cameras- checking cameras so that attachment behaviour can be easily seen, checking behavioural categories for whether they suitability measure parent infant behaviour