What Is a Feasibility Study?

A feasibility study asks whether a planned study or intervention can be carried out, and under what conditions, before a full study is designed. It is broader than a pilot: it may examine whether the research question is worth pursuing, whether the intervention is acceptable, and whether the resources exist.

Feasibility versus pilot

Authors use these terms differently. A common distinction is:

• Feasibility study: asks whether the main study can be done (can we recruit, measure, retain participants; is the intervention acceptable?). It may not use the planned design.
• Pilot study: a smaller version of the main study that runs the same procedures, including randomisation if the main study is a trial.

Always define what you mean in your protocol and report.

Typical questions

Illustrative example

Invented for teaching. A research team wants to run a trial of a telephone-based diabetes coaching programme. A feasibility study interviews 15 patients and 5 nurses, records how many patients are eligible in clinic, and tests the coaching scripts for 6 weeks. It finds that evening calls are preferred and that a third of patients lack a reliable phone, which informs the design of the trial.

Common pitfalls

• Using "feasibility" to justify a small, underpowered study of effectiveness.
• Not defining success criteria in advance.

Key takeaways

• The question is "can it be done?", not "does it work?".
• Mixed methods (numbers and interviews) are often useful.
• Define progression criteria beforehand.

This page is general educational information about research methods. It is not medical, legal or regulatory advice; follow your institution's ethics board and your target journal's instructions.