pilot studies Flashcards
aims of a pilot study
small scale trial run of the actual investigation
involves a handful of partipnats rather than the total number to test the procedure and ,are sure that it runs smoothly
when using self report methods such as questionnaires or interviews it is better to try out the questions in advance to remove or reword those that are ambiguous
in observational studies a pilot study provides a way of checking coding systems before the test
pilot studies allow the researcher to identify any potential issues and to modify the design or procedure saving time and money in the long run
single blind procedure
when particpants may no be told the aim of the research at the beginning of the study
other details may also be kept such as which conditions of the xperiment they are in or whether there is another condition at all
any info that may create expectations is not revealed till the end of the study
control the confounding effects of demand characteristics
double blind procedure
neither particpants or researcher who conducts the study is aware of the aims of the investigation
important feature in drug trials
if they don’t know what each particpants is receiving then expectations can’t influence the particpants behaviour
control groups and conditions
the group that receives the real drug is called the experimental group
group that receives the placebo is the control group
control groups are used for the purpose of comparison
researcher can establish cause and effect