Assignment 5 – Pilot Study

Outline of Pilot Study Final Report

I. Research problem

--Describe topic and its importance

--Describe purpose of proposed larger study and pilot study

II. Literature review

--Review existing empirical and theoretical literature

III. Research questions/hypotheses

IV. Research design

A. Population and sample

--population of interest

--sampling frame

--how sample for pilot study was selected

--possible selection bias

B. Data and variables

--key concepts and variables (dependent and independent variables)

--design of questionnaire—questions, responses, and format

--how questions/responses were developed (existing surveys, expert interviews, etc.)

C. Procedures for collecting and analyzing data

D. Problems/limitations of the design

V. Results

A. Respondents (Unit response)

--problems in contacting respondents

--response rate

--possible response bias (compare know characteristics of population, sampling frame, sample, respondents)

B. Survey items (Item response)

--descriptive statistics of individual questions (valid and invalid responses)

--crosstabs of key variables by respondent characteristics

C. Preliminary analysis of research questions/hypothesis

VII. Implications for larger study

--Suggested revisions for sampling procedures

--Suggested revisions for questionnaire

--Suggested revisions to collecting and analyzing data