pilot studies and more

Question 1

a pilot study

Answer 1

a small scale investigation that takes place before the real investigation is conducted

• it often uses a handful of participants rather than the total number in order to test the procedure and check that the investigation runs smoothly
• they allow the researcher to identify any potential issues and to modify the design or the procedure saving time and money in the long run
• in self-report questions, it is useful to try out questions in advance in order to remove or re-word ambiguous or confusing questions
• in observations, pilot studies provide a way of checking coding systems before the real investigation

Question 2

single-blind procedure

Answer 2

this is when details of the experiment may be kept from the participant such as the aims of the experiment, which conditions of the experiment they are in, or whether there is another condition at all. This is an attempt to control the impact of demand characteristics.

Question 3

Double-blind procedure

Answer 3

This is when neither the participants nor the researcher who conducts the study is aware of the aims of the investigation, often a third party conducts the investigation without knowledge of its main purpose
this is an attempt to control the impact of demand characteristics and investigator effects