will it make any difference that a researcher collected the data for pilot study from country "A " and after checking the statistical validity and reliability he/she opted to collect data from country" B" ? is it logical?
Can we collect data for pilot study from one country and then the final data from other country in social Science studies?
Depending on your research scope e.g. if the data supposed to be collected from a country "A" then it is better for both pilot study & final data collection to be conducted in country "A". Reason being to avoid unnecessary questioning from article reviewer / thesis examiner that you might need to justify. Moreover, this is to avoid issues like:
Country "A" respondents are familiar & be able to answer your instrument / survey questionnaire but country "B" respondents might not understand / misinterpreted your questionnaire (language proficiency differences).
May be certain terms / wordings used in your questionnaire is considered acceptable by respondents from country "A" but might be considered rude / unethical etc for respondents in country "B" (cultural differences).
Survey questionnaire in Country "A" might be in e.g. English and survey questionnaire in Country "B" might be in local language in which there might be some interpretation error not discovered (language translation issues / mistakes).
Country "A" respondents might be more IT savvy & be able to respond your questionnaire via online survey whereas country "B" respondents might not be that IT savvy or there is hardly any availability of Internet (technological differences).
Above are just few examples in which they can cause the disparity or quality of data collected from respondents in two different countries. If you have no option, try to target the respondents with similar cultural values, Social Economic Status (SES), language command, technological dexterity etc. from both countries. Wishing you all the best.
Taking into consideration the fact that what may be applicable in one country may not be applicable in other countries. So its not acceptable to do so.
Social science deals with the action, interaction and feedback based on their community and resources. Therefore piloting for a country or location will add value to the main questionnaire dealing with the same country or location. Testing in one country and collecting data from another country will not be acceptable for most of the social issues. May be for some issues, it may be possible, however the issue should be of global nature and intend to address global solution.
The only reason to do so is if you wish to compare one phenomenon in two different contexts. Due to different value systems, semantics in defining problems and solutions, management styles etc one should be very careful when mixing different cultures.
Why would you do so? Even within a country or region terms and phrases may be understood differently. Why didnot you do your pilot directly in country B as you will have difficulties to explain that the validity (meaning, understanding, reaction) of the answers to your questions in country B is the same as in country A.