OSF

Transparent piloting: Understanding researcher practices and attitudes towards reporting pilot studies in psychology Catalyst Training Project

Isaac Handley-Miner

Piloting—the practice of conducting preliminary studies or trial runs to refine research designs, procedures, or instruments—is common in psychology. Yet, pilot studies are rarely reported in the literature. Publishing methods and results from pilot studies alongside the full studies these pilots precede could have many benefits, including: (1) what was learned during piloting could help other researchers better replicate, extend, and repurpose study designs; (2) pilot results could shed light on the generalizability of the full study’s findings (e.g., reveal boundary conditions); (3) the field could better assess common piloting practices and identify areas of improvement. This project will survey researchers about their piloting practices, attitudes towards reporting pilots, and perceived barriers to reporting pilots. This survey data will inform three downstream projects: a meta-assessment of current piloting reporting practices, a tool to facilitate the reporting of pilot studies, and a perspectives article discussing the merits of reporting pilot studies.