Pilot Study - GCSE Sociology Definition

A pilot study is a small-scale version of a research project that is carried out before the main study. It helps researchers test and refine their methods and check if their study design will work. This step is important because it allows them to find and fix any problems before spending time and resources on the full study. In GCSE Sociology, a pilot study can help you improve your research questions, check if your questionnaires make sense, or see if interview techniques are effective. It's like a practice run to make sure everything will go smoothly during the actual research.