sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Rehearsing for the Show: The Role of Pilot Study Reports

We often receive inquiries from authors regarding the potential publication of small-sample studies. In their queries, some authors refer to their work as pilot studies, and others do not. We also receive many manuscripts in which the study being reported is clearly a pilot investigation but the authors have entirely avoided applying the pilot study moniker. They instead may call the study a “trial run, ” a “feasibility trial, ” a “proof-of-concept study, ” or they may even refer to it as a “miniature study.” Regardless of how authors might refer to their work, we adhere to the following definition of pilot study: a small-scale investigation conducted preparatory to a subsequent adequately powered large trial. So when authors ask us about whether their studies are publishable, our immediate response is usually “it depends. ” Not a very satisfying answer, admittedly, but in eval-uating pilot work, the study’s design, purpose, and the value of the findings to readers all need to be taken into consideration. Certain kinds of pilot studies definitely should not be published. One is th