Abstract
During the development of research to compare the processes and impact of inclusive education in Sweden with results obtained from a study undertaken in Ireland, a pilot study was conducted and documented. The pilot study had three aims: (1) to gather data to provide guidance for a substantive study adapted to Swedish conditions through modification of Irish research procedures and instruments, (2) to critically interrogate how we as researchers could most effectively conduct a pilot study utilizing observational and video-recorded data, and (3) to use the Irish theoretical model as a tool of analysis for studying inclusion in two Swedish schools. Although pilot studies are frequently conducted to assess the efficacy of research instruments for use in qualitative research projects, few publications have drawn upon empirical findings related to such studies. Additionally, while methodological texts recommend the use of pilot studies in qualitative research, there is a lack of reported research focusing on how to conduct such pilot studies. We argue that our methodological findings may contribute to greater awareness of the important role that a pilot study may have for full-scale qualitative research projects, for example, in case study research where semi-structured qualitative interviews are used. This argument is based on the assumption that researchers, and especially novice researchers, having conducted a pilot study will be better informed and prepared to face the challenges that are likely to arise in the substantive study and more confident in the instruments to be used for data collection. A proper analysis of the procedures and results from the pilot study facilitates the identification of weaknesses that may be addressed. A carefully organized and managed pilot study has the potential to increase the quality of the research as results from such studies can inform subsequent parts of the research process.
Highlights
The proposal to investigate quality issues related to pilot studies in qualitative research was initiated by researchers from two Swedish universities, while working in partnership with academic colleagues from United Kingdom and Ireland who had come together to design a comparative study of inclusive education in Sweden and Ireland
Three aims were established for the pilot study: 1. to gather data to provide guidance for a substantive study adapted to Swedish conditions through modification of Irish research procedures and instruments; 2. to critically interrogate how we as researchers could most effectively conduct a pilot study utilizing observational and video-recorded data, which is a procedure coined by us as a “collaborative self-study approach”; and
As a consequence of what was learned through piloting, we were enabled to gain greater understanding of the complexities of working within a previously designed model and the ways in which instruments could be modified to be appropriate for a specific research environment. Such modifications and understanding may well not have been achieved without giving such detailed attention to the pilot project stage, and the planning of the main research project may have been less effective
Summary
The proposal to investigate quality issues related to pilot studies in qualitative research was initiated by researchers from two Swedish universities, while working in partnership with academic colleagues from United Kingdom and Ireland who had come together to design a comparative study of inclusive education in Sweden and Ireland. The proposed study, Inclusive Research in Swedish Schools (IRISS), would replicate the Irish approach of “interview teams” (several interviewers conducting interviews) in a number of case study schools. International Journal of Qualitative Methods guidelines and interview framework, which resembled those used in the Irish research. These could not, be identical as the school systems function in different contextual and cultural conditions (cf Kim, 2010). The interview instruments developed had to be flexible enough to make it possible to investigate conditions that are unique to Swedish schools
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