2025-06-26 –, Second floor 217 - WS
A pilot study typically refers to a smaller-scale, preliminary study conducted to refine methods and procedures ahead of planned data collection. Piloting is common in psychological research, and can significantly influence research outcomes, but little guidance exists on how to design, conduct and report such studies. To find out how to improve transparency of piloting in psychology, we conducted an international survey on piloting practices, attitudes toward reporting pilots, and perceived barriers to doing so across psychological subfields. Based on data from N = 135 researchers, we found that researchers do not consistently report their pilot studies, but they agree on the importance of including basic pilot study information. The survey also highlighted the diversity of piloting practices and their influence on the research process. In the current talk we will present the findings from the survey as well as future avenues to improve transparency of pilot reporting in psychology.
