Pilot Study Section
William & Mary research-compliance guidance describes pilot work as preliminary, small-scale exploratory work used to test or develop procedures, design, or instruments intended for a larger study. Ethics and institutional-review requirements for pilot or feasibility work vary by jurisdiction and institution; the cited William & Mary procedure is institutional guidance, not a universal rule.
A Pilot Study section explains the preliminary testing done before the main study, what the pilot was intended to test, and what was changed or learned before full implementation.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
Ethics and institutional-review requirements for pilot or feasibility work vary by jurisdiction and institution; the cited William & Mary procedure is institutional guidance, not a universal rule.
Further guidance
Content
Do not label every informal pretest as a formal pilot study, and do not imply that pilot findings establish the main study’s substantive conclusions.
Purpose
State the pilot purpose, scale, procedures or instruments tested, major refinements that followed, and whether any pilot data were included in the main study when that matters to interpretation.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- IRB Procedure for Review and Approval for Pilot and Feasibility Work (opens in a new tab)William & Mary · Institutional research-compliance guidance defining pilot and feasibility work as preliminary testing of procedures, design, or instruments