Before launching any large-scale market research initiative, it is wise to first conduct a pilot study. As the old adage goes: “measure twice, cut once.” This is the philosophy behind pilot studies.
They enable researchers to identify and resolve any issues with the research design, data collection tools, or analytical techniques on a small scale before committing to a full-blown project.
In this post, you will learn about the key elements of conducting a pilot study in market research.
Without further ado, let’s jump right in.
What is a Pilot Study?
A pilot study is preliminary research conducted before the main or full study. Think of it as a trial or a rough study on a small scale, before conducting the actual or main study.
Pilot studies are conducted to assess the feasibility of your procedure or approach before further resources are invested in a large-scale study.
Two things to keep in mind when conducting a pilot study.
When conducting a pilot study, careful consideration should be given to sample size and participant eligibility for the full study.
- Sample Size
The sample size for a pilot study should be adequate to provide useful information about the feasibility and quality of the measures, yet not so large as to waste valuable resources.
A good rule of thumb is to involve a small fraction of the total sample size, with a common range of around 10% to 20%, but this can vary.
When determining the size of your pilot study, consider factors like the complexity of your study, the resources available, and the level of confidence you want to achieve in your main study results.
- Participant Eligibility
Importantly, the participants recruited for the pilot study should be excluded from the final study sample. Since pilot study participants have prior exposure to the study procedures and measures, their responses may differ systematically from naïve participants.
This could bias or invalidate the final study results if pilot study participants are reused. Therefore it is best practice to recruit an entirely new sample of eligible participants for the final study from the target population.
Why is Pilot Study Conducted in Research?
The purpose is to evaluate the feasibility, time, cost, and potential issues that may arise, in order to improve the study design prior to the performance of a large-scale study.
Pilot studies serve as vital preparatory steps for larger research projects. They allow researchers to test key components of their planned study on a smaller scale before launching into a full study.
Piloting research processes in advance provides an opportunity to evaluate feasibility and make necessary adjustments. Take for example, when designing an observational study involving extensive fieldwork.
Researchers may first conduct a limited pilot observation. This gives them a chance to assess their data collection methods, analytical approach, and other logistics.
Similarly, for a study relying on interviews, a few pilot interviews can reveal flaws in the questioning technique or transcript analysis. Researchers can also pilot surveys or questionnaires to pinpoint confusing language or formatting issues.
In general, a pilot study helps identify potential challenges in the main study and suggests ways to address them.
It assesses the validity and reliability of data collection tools such as surveys or questionnaires.
So having established the rationale behind conducting a pilot study, let’s see its importance within the broader context of research.
What is the Importance of Pilot Study in Research?
Some key reasons why pilot studies are important in market research are:
- They allow researchers to test and refine research instruments like surveys and questionnaires before deploying them. Pilot studies help identify issues with question-wording, formatting, length, or ordering, ensuring better quality data collection in the larger study.
- Pilot studies enable researchers to find and address problems with the research methodology before significant time or money has been invested. For example, issues with participant recruitment, data entry procedures, survey administration, or other logistics can surface during pilot testing. Resolving these early on helps avoid compromising the full study.
- Pilot testing establishes the reliability and validity of research instruments. By trying out experimental setups and analytical methods on pilot data, researchers can quantify and optimize accuracy, consistency, and dependability. This translates to higher scientific rigour in the final study.
- Identifying alterations early on through pilots means having to change less mid-way into the full research study—saving considerable time and resources. This allows the main study to proceed more efficiently and effectively.
Is a pilot study quantitative or qualitative and can it be used in both research methods?
As a matter of fact, pilot study can be conducted for both quantitative and qualitative research methods but the approach differs. As we know there are two main types of market research studies. The quantitative studies and qualitative studies.
In qualitative studies, the approach and process of carrying out pilot testing differ from quantitative studies.
As in the case of qualitative, the participants are interviewed by the moderator using the research instrument (discussion guide). In contrast, enumerators carry out the test with the respondents for the quantitative survey through the aid of a structured questionnaire.
The overall goal is to detect and address any issues with the questionnaire or research instrument, such as unclear wording or confusing instructions and make adequate adjustments before conducting the full study.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, pilot studies serve as a vital tool in checking the workability of the research instrument before conducting the actual study, in other to increase the efficiency and validity of the research.
FAQ’s
How is a pilot study conducted in qualitative research?
A pilot study in qualitative research may involve fine-tuning interview or observation techniques. Mock interviews or observations may be conducted by researchers to assess the clarity of questions, the flow of conversation, and the overall applicability of their qualitative data collection methodology. Testing coding frameworks or analysis methods can be part of qualitative pilot studies. Researchers can evaluate the suitability of their approaches to analyzing and interpreting qualitative data.
What is the difference between a pilot and a feasibility study?
A feasibility study is an analysis designed to determine the viability of a proposed project. A pilot study also takes the same approach but is conducted on a small scale to test the workability of a future study.
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Co-author – Temitayo Olotu