Video: Dissertation Writing Tips: Dr. Cheryl
Lentz: The Pilot Study
[Video Transcript]
Hello and welcome back!
My name is Dr. Cheryl Lentz, owner of The
Refractive ThinkerÆ Press.
Today our focus for Tips for Graduate Writing
is about including a pilot study for your
doctoral study (dissertation).
What is the purpose of a pilot study?
A common definition is that a pilot study
allows researchers to conduct a preliminary
analysis or small scale version of their study
BEFORE they commit to the full study that
will commence later.
Those pursuing a doctoral program will often
be required to complete a pilot study as part
of their doctoral study checklist.
In anticipation of conducting the full doctoral
study, the researcher needs to know that their
study is valid and that all aspects of the
studyósuch as the research method and design
of the survey ---will actually capture the
data they are looking for as outlined in their
problem statement.
The goal is to perform a test run to ensure
that the research plan as outlined will provide
the most accurate and reliable data possible.
Why is this necessary?
The pilot study is a crucial element to ensure
good research design of the final study.
The goal is to work through any issues that
might arise BEFORE the actual study.
What issues might there be?
Consider potential areas with question wording.
For example, the questions asked in oneís
study might be difficult to understand or
confusing to the participants.
The questions might be considered leading
questions or questions that may lead to a
specific or potentially biased answer.
Conducting a pilot study will also pre-test
the survey instrument(s) as well to help work
out any issues with a small groupóperhaps
10% of the overall target audience for the
actual studyówith a just in case type of
strategy.
The pilot study is where we as researchers
want to see errors, so any questions that
are confusing or offensive can be corrected
and adjusted prior to conducting the full
studyóto ensure that ëthe researchí goes
off without any complications.
What is the difference?
Ideally, there is no difference.
The pilot study will be identical to the full
study, simply a smaller version.
Think of this as a test run in which the documentation
and the analysis are the same.
While the people who participate will be different
and cannot participate in the full study,
where this test run offers the ability to
work out any kinks in content and process
prior to completion of the full study.
This pilot study is an opportunity for the
researcher to focus on the details as a final
quality assurance check before commitment
to the full study.
A pilot study offers a grand learning opportunity
even for the most seasoned research veterans.
Be sure to heed the offered lessons.
Do I have to conduct a pilot study?
Conducting a pilot study is for those survey
instruments and questionnaires that have not
yet been field tested.
If you are using a survey instrument or questionnaire
that has already been tested or vetted, i.e.,
used by a previous researcher, a pilot study
is not needed.
Often, buildings on the research of previous
doctoral studies that already have high quality
seasoned instruments or questionnaires can
be a time saver.
Follow the requirements offered by your specific
institution.
Be sure to work closely with your chair or
mentor to ensure that your study follows sound
research processes and protocols to ensure
quality results.
Please continue your research regarding pilot
studies, particularly about statistical analysis.
For more tips on effective academic writing,
please visit me at my blog at http://www.dissertationpublishing.com
Thank you for joining me.
My name is Dr. Cheryl Lentz and I hope you
find these suggestions within this video helpful.
Good luck to you in your academic writing
pursuits.
Cheers!
With respect,
Cheryl
Dr. Cheryl Lentz
