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Statistics vocabulary · Survey and Study Design

Pilot study

Meaning in statistics, with examples

nounCommon term

In statistics, pilot study means: A small trial run of a study, carried out before the main study, to test the questionnaire, the procedures and the timing and to find problems early.

In Turkish: pilot çalışma, ön uygulama, ön çalışma

How it is used

Researchers pilot, or pilot-test, a questionnaire with a small group similar to the target population. The results are used to reword confusing questions, check completion time and sometimes plan the sample size. Also a verb: 'we piloted the survey with 20 teachers'.

Example sentences

  1. The pilot study showed that two of the questions were being misunderstood.

  2. We ran a pilot study with 25 nurses before the main data collection.

Common collocations

  • conduct a pilot study
  • pilot-test the questionnaire
  • pilot phase
  • results of the pilot
  • questionnaireThe printed or online form containing the set of questions that respondents answer in a survey.
  • surveyA method of collecting information by asking a set of questions to a group of people, usually a sample, in person, by phone, on paper or online.
  • sample sizeThe number of observations or participants included in a study, usually written as n (or N for the total).
  • control groupThe group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment being tested, or receives a placebo or the usual treatment, so that it can be compared with the treatment group.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Survey and Study Design

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