A pilot study, or feasibility study, is a small-scale preliminary investigation to assess the viability of a larger research project, identifying potential design issues, practicality, and resource requirements. While pilot studies improve research quality and help in early detection of problems, they do not serve as a hypothesis testing method, and any findings should be treated cautiously. Limitations include the need for additional resources, potential contamination of data, and uncertainty regarding the main study's success.

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Pilot Study

2. Table Contents
Definition
Introduction
Key-Points of Pilot Study
About Pilot Study
Advantages of Pilot Study
Limitations of Pilot Study
Conclusion
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3. Definition
A pilot study, also called a 'feasibility' study, is
a small scale preliminary study conducted
before any large-scale quantitative research in
order to evaluate the potential for a future,
full-scale project.
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4. Introduction
• Pilot studies are a fundamental stage of the
research process. They can help identify
design issues and evaluate feasibility,
practicality, resources, time, and cost of a
study before the main research is conducted.
• Pilot studies can play a very important role
prior to conducting a full-scale research
project
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5. 5

6. Key-Points of Pilot Study
• It involves selecting a few people and trying
out the study on them.
• It is possible to save time, and in some cases,
money, by identifying any flaws in the
procedures designed by the researcher.
• Sometimes the task is too hard, and the
researcher may get a floor effect, because
none of the participants can score at all or can
complete the task – all performances are low.
●●●
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7. Key-Points of Pilot Study
• A pilot study can help the researcher spot
any ambiguities (i.e. unusual things) or
confusion in the information given to
participants or problems with the task
devised.
• The opposite effect is a ceiling effect, when
the task is so easy that all achieve virtually
full marks or top performances and are
“hitting the ceiling”.
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8. About Pilot Study
• Pilot studies also provide researchers with
preliminary data so they can gain insight into
the potential results of their proposed
experiment.
• However, pilot studies should not be used to
test hypotheses since the appropriate power
and sample size are not calculated.
• Rather, pilot studies should be used to assess
the feasibility of participant recruitment or
study design.
●●●
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9. About Pilot Study
• By conducting a pilot study, researchers will
be better prepared to face the challenges that
might arise in the larger study, and they will
be more confident with the instruments they
will use for data collection.
• In some studies, multiple pilot studies may be
needed and qualitative and/or quantitative
methods may be used.
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10. 10

11. Advantages of Pilot Studies
• Increasing research quality
• Assessing the practicality and feasibility of
the main study
• Testing the efficacy of research instruments
• Identifying and addressing any weaknesses
or logistical problems
• Collecting preliminary data
• Estimating the time and costs required for
the project
●●●
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12. Advantages of Pilot Studies
• Determining what resources are needed for
the study
• Identifying the necessity to modify procedures
that do not elicit useful data
• Adding credibility and dependability to the
study
• Pretesting the interview format
• Enabling researchers to develop consistent
practices and familiarize themselves with the
procedures in the protocol.
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13. Limitations of Pilot Studies
• Require extra costs, time, and resources.
• Do not guarantee the success of the main
study.
• Contamination (ie: if data from the pilot
study or pilot participants are included in the
main study results).
• Funding bodies may be reluctant to fund a
further study if the pilot study results are
published.
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15. Conclusion
 A pilot study can be used to evaluate the
feasibility of recruitment, randomization,
retention, assessment procedures, new methods,
and implementation of the novel intervention.
 A pilot study is not a hypothesis testing study.
Safety, efficacy and effectiveness are not
evaluated in a pilot.
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16. References
• Google.com
• Wikipedia.org
• Studymafia.org
• Slidespanda.com

17. Thanks
To
StudyMafia.org