Research Methodology Assignment ABDUL AHAD

Pilot Study & Action Research M Sc IS

25.11.2103

Pilot Study
A pilot study is a brief and limited version of the planned research. The goal of a pilot study is to
refine the procedures of the research project.

The primary goal of a pilot study is not to collect research data, but to check out research
procedures so that adjustments can be made before the actual data are collected. A secondary
goal is to determine if the planned statistical analyses work. Problems that show up in the pilot
study are fixed by changing the data collection procedures or the statistical analyses.

The following steps for piloting are recommended:

1. Secure support for the pilot from those who have a stake in the results of the evaluation.
2. Identify the individuals to be involved in planning and overseeing the evaluation process.
3. Define precisely the purpose of the evaluation and how the results will be used.
4. Specify what will be judged and formulate the evaluation questions.
5. Determine who will supply the needed evidence.
6. Specify the evaluation approach to be used.
7. Determine the data collection techniques to be used and when the data will be collected.
8. Specify the analysis procedures to be used.
9. Specify what criteria will be used to make judgments about the programme or what process
will be used to determine the criteria.
10. Determine the specific timeline and the budget needed to conduct the evaluation.
11. Complete the evaluation, formulate recommendations, and prepare and present an
evaluation report.
12. Respond to the recommendations for changes.

Pilot studies are carried out with fewer subjects than will be employed in the main study,
process called Sampling.
The Advantages of Sampling:
• Cost effective in terms of fewer interviews or questionnaires, fewer staff needed and less
time is required to collect & analyze data.
• Fewer subjects in the investigation mean that more time can be dedicated to in-depth study
and to analysis of data.
The Disadvantages of Sampling:
• If the sample isn’t chosen carefully the findings could be inaccurate or misleading.
• There is always the chance that some important information will be missed.

In conclusion, pilot studies are necessary, and that even if the feedback doesn’t come out as
you would have expected, that is a good thing as it allows you to see your experiment from a
different perspective, and allows you to judge whether you believe you need to make minor,
drastic or even no changes at all.

Action Research

Action research involves an intervention by a researcher to influence change in any given

situation and to monitor and evaluate the results.

The researcher, working with a client, identifies a particular objective, and explores ways this
might be done. The researcher enters into the situation and monitors the results.

This research requires active co-operation between researcher and client and a continual
process of adjustment to the intervention in the light of new information and responses to it
from respondents.

The Action Research Process

Action research involves the same seven-step process:

1. Selecting a Focus
The action research process begins with serious reflection directed toward identifying a topic or
topics worthy of an investigation.

2. Clarifying Theories
The second step involves identifying the values, beliefs, and theoretical perspectives the
researchers hold relating to their focus.

3. Identifying Research Questions

Once a focus area has been selected and the researcher's perspectives and beliefs about that
focus have been clarified, the next step is to generate a set of personally meaningful research
questions to guide the inquiry.
4. Collecting Data
Action researchers can accomplish this by making sure that the data used to justify their actions
are valid (meaning the information represents what the researchers say it does)
and reliable (meaning the researchers are confident about the accuracy of their data).

5. Analyzing Data
Although data analysis often brings to mind the use of complex statistical calculations, this is
rarely the case for the action researcher. A number of relatively user-friendly procedures can
help a practitioner identify the trends and patterns in action research data.

6. Reporting Results
The reporting of action research most often occurs in informal settings that are far less
intimidating than the venues where scholarly research has traditionally been shared.

7. Taking Informed Action

Taking informed action, or “action planning,” the last step in the action research process. Once
you are in a position to decide on what action you are going to take as a first stab at tackling
your concern. The likelihood is that it will address some aspects of the problem, but that it will
raise other issues you hadn’t anticipated.

Advantages of Action Research

• It lends itself to work and practice

• It increases learning by researcher and the action cycle is a learning cycle
• It is usually participative which implies a partnership

Disadvantages of Action Research

• It is harder than conventional research in some ways

• It does not always accord with the researchers expectations
• It is difficult to write about in a conventional way
• Library research is more demanding
• It is more difficult to isolate and report