Piloting Flashcards
1
Q
Define ‘pilot study’ (1 mark)
A
A pilot study is a small scale trial run of the main study that is used to check methodology, make any changes & test for reliability.
2
Q
Explain the purpose of using a pilot study in psychological research (2 marks)
A
Pilot studies are used to check the suitability of the methodology (in the case of observations, to check behavioural categories are fully operationalised), to identify any extraneous variables that may influence the results and to make any changes necessary before the main study takes place so that time and money are not wasted.
