pilot studies and types of procedures

Question 1

what is a pilot study?

Answer 1

a small-scale trial run of the actual investigation

Question 2

what does a pilot study involve?

Answer 2

• a handful of participants, rather than a total number to check the investigation runs smoothly
• in self-report methods (eg. questionnaires or interviews), questions can be tried out in advance and remove or reword those that are ambiguous or confusing
• in observational studies, it provides a way of checking coding systems before the real investigation is undertaken

Question 3

what are the aims of pilot studies?

Answer 3

• to check the procedure works
• to check the investigation runs smoothly
• allows the researcher to identify any potential issues and to modify the design or procedure, saving time and money in the long run

Question 4

what are single-blind procedures?

Answer 4

when the participant is unaware of the test being conducted but the researcher is not

Question 5

what is the aim of a single-blind procedure?

Answer 5

to remove any information that might create expectations, only revealing them at the end of the study to control the confounding effects of demand characteristics

Question 6

what are double-blind procedures?

Answer 6

when neither the participants nor the researcher who conducts the study is aware of the aims of the investigation

Question 7

why are double-blind procedures important in drug trials?

Answer 7

• treatment may be administered to participants why someone who is independent of the investigation and who does not know which drugs are real and which are placebos (‘fake’ drugs)
• if they don’t know what each participant is receiving then expectations cannot influence participant behaviour

Question 8

what is the experimental groups and the control group (eg. in a drug trial)

Answer 8

• experimental group is the one which receives the real drug
• control group is the one which receives the placebo