What is data collection?
Data collection is the process of gathering and analysing accurate data from various sources to find answers to research problems,trends and probabilities,etc.,to evaluate possible outcomes.
During data collection,the researchers must identify the date types,the sources of data,and what methods are being used.
Before an analyst begins collecting data,they must answer three questions first:
What's the goal or purpose of this research?
What kinds of data are they planning on gathering?
What methods and procedures will be used to collect, store, and process the information?
Why do we need data collection?
Before a judge makes a ruling In a court case or a general creates a plan of attack, they must have as many relevant facts as possible. The best course of action come from informed decisions,and information and data are synonymous. The concept of data collection isn't a new one. The data collection processes has had to change and grow with the times, keeping pace with technology. Whether you are in the world of academia, trying to conduct research,or part of the commercial sector, thinking of how to promote a new product,you need data collection to help you make better choices.
Types of data collection
Primary methods
Secondary method
Primary methods of collecting data in business analytics are: surveys, transactional tracking, interviews and focus groups, observation, online tracking,forms,social media monitoring.
Primary methods as the name implies ,this is original,first hand data collected by the data researchers. This process is the initial information gathering step,performed before anyone carries out any further or related research. Primary data results are highly accurate provided the researcher collects the information.
Secondary data collection: is the second hand data collected by other parties and already having undergone statistical analysis. This data is either information that the researcher has tasked other people to collect or information the researcher has looked up. Although it's easier and cheaper to obtain than primary information, secondary information raises concerns regarding accuracy and authenticity. Quantitative data makes up a majority of secondary data.
Specific data collection techniques
Using the primary/ secondary methods above here is a breakdown of specific techniques.
Primary data collection
Interviews: the researcher asks questions of a large sampling of people, either by direct interviews or means of mass communication such as by phone or mail. This methods is far by the most common means of data gathering.
Projective data gathering: is an indirect interview,used when potential respondents know why they are being asked questions and hesitate to answer. For instance, someone may be reluctant to answer questions about their phone service if a cell phone carrier representative poses the questions. With projective data gathering,the interviewees get an incomplete questions and they must fill the rest, using their opinions, feeling and attitudes.
Focus groups: like interviews are commonly used technique. The group consists of anywhere from a half - dozen to a dozen people,led by a moderator, brought together to discuss the issue.
Questionnaire: are a simple, straight forward data collection method. Respondents get a series o questions, either open or ckose- ended ,related to the matter at hand.
Secondary data collection: unlike primary data collection,there are no specific collection method. Instead,since the information has already been collected,the researcher consults various data sourcs,such as:
Financial statements
Sales report
Retailer/ distributor/ deal feedback
Customers personal information ( eg name, address,age, contact info)
Business journals
Government record ( eg census,tax records,social security info)
Trade/ business magazines
The internet
Data collection Tools
Now that we have explained the various techniques,let narrow our focus even further by looking at some specific tools. For example,we mentioned interviews as a technique but we can further break that down into different interview types or tools.
Word association: gives the respondent a set of words and ask them what comes to mind when they hear each word.
Sentence completion : researcher use sentence completion to understand what kind of ideas the respondent has. This tool involves giving an incomplete sentence and seeing how the interviewee finishes it.
Role- playing : Respondents are presented with an imaginary situation and asked how they would act or react if it was real.
In- person surveys: the researcher asks questions in person.
Online/ web survey: they are easy to accomplish,but some users may be unwilling to answer truthfully,if at all.
Mobile survey: they take advantage of the increasing proliferation of mobile technology. Mobile collection survey rely on mobile devices like tablets or smartphones to conduct surveys via SMS or mobile apps
Phone survey : No researcher can call thousand of people at once, so they need a third party to handle the chore. However,many people have call screening and won't answer.
Observation: researcher who makes direct observation collect data quickly and easily, with little intrusion or third- party bias. Naturally it's only effective in small- scale situations.
Steps in collecting data
Decide what data you want to gather.
Establish a deadline for data collection.
Select a data collection approach
Gather information.
Examine the information and apply your findings