Question

How is a panel study different from a pilot study? (8-10 sentences)

Answer 1

Both are the types of survey methods. However, their working principle and criterion are entirely different.
Panel Study:
A panel study, also known as cohort study, is a type of observational and longitudinal study that is utilized in various scientific fields and marketing areas. With a clinical study design, the cohort study is utilized in order to determine risk factors, life histories and other aspects related to a group of people being studied. The focus of a panel study is a group of people who have a common attribute, experience or characteristic in a particular time period. This group is called the cohort. People that share the fact of being born on the same day, month, year or era may belong to a birth cohort.

Pilot Study:
A pilot survey is a strategy used to test the questionnaire using a smaller sample compared to the planned sample size. A pilot survey is performed prior to the actual, large-scale survey and presents many benefits and advantages for the researcher. Practically speaking, pilot surveys save financial resources because if errors are found in the questionnaire or interview early on, there would be a lesser chance of unreliable results or worse, that you would need to start over again after conducting the survey.
Overall, the main objective of a pilot study is to determine whether conducting a large-scale survey is worth the effort.