Reference table
Cognitive interview vs pilot test
A side-by-side comparison of the two ways to pretest a survey or interview guide. Cognitive interviews find problems in individual questions over small, repeated rounds, while a pilot test checks that the whole study works from start to finish. Run them in that order: cognitive testing, revise, pilot, revise the logistics, then launch.
Where this appears
What's in this reference table
| Cognitive interview | Pilot test | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Diagnose specific question problems | Test the complete study logistics end to end |
| Sample size | 5 to 27 participants across rounds | 10 to 50+ participants |
| Data collected | Verbal protocols, problem logs | Full survey responses |
| Output | Revised instrument with documented fixes | Confirmed study protocol |
| When in sequence | Before the pilot test | Before full launch |
Use this image
Free to use in your docs, decks and posts under CC BY 4.0, as long as you credit Koji with a link to this page. To embed it, paste this into your page:
html
<a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/cognitive-interview-vs-pilot-test-comparison"><img src="https://www.koji.so/visuals/cognitive-interview-vs-pilot-test-comparison/cognitive-interview-vs-pilot-test-comparison.png" alt="Table comparing cognitive interviews and pilot tests by goal, sample size, data collected, output and when each one runs." width="1200" height="670" /></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/cognitive-interview-vs-pilot-test-comparison">Cognitive interview vs pilot test</a>, Koji</p>
