The importance of conducting and reporting pilot studies: the example of the Scottish Births Survey

Background. In many research papers, pilot studies are only reported as a m eans of justifying the methods. This justification might refer to the overa ll research design, or simply to the validity and reliability of the resear ch tools. It is unusual for reports of pilot studies to include practical p roblems faced by the researcher(s). Pilot studies are relevant to best prac tice in research, but their potential for other researchers appears to be i gnored. Objective. The primary aim of this study was to identify the most appropria te method for conducting a national survey of maternity care. Methods. Pilot studies were conducted in five hospitals to establish the be st of four possible methods of approaching women, distributing questionnair es and encouraging the return of these questionnaires. Variations in the pi lot studies included (a) whether or not the questionnaires were anonymous, (b) the staff involved in distributing the questionnaires and ici whether q uestionnaires were distributed via central or local processes. For this pur pose, five maternity hospitals of different sizes in Scotland were included . Results. Problems in contacting women as a result of changes in the Data Pr otection Act (1998) required us to rely heavily on service providers. Howev er, this resulted ill a number of difficulties. These included poor distrib ution rates in areas where distribution relied upon service providers, unau thorized changes to the study protocol and limited or inaccurate informatio n regarding the numbers of questionnaires distributed. Conclusions. The pilot raised a number of fundamental issues related to the process of conducting a large-scale survey, including the method of distri buting the questionnaire, gaining access to patients, and reliance on 'gate keepers'. This paper highlights the lessons learned as well as the balancin g act of using research methods in the most optimal way under the combined pressure of time, ethical considerations and the influences of stakeholders . Reporting the kinds of practical issues that occur during pilot studies m ight help others avoid similar pitfalls anti mistakes.