1.

What is Data Collection: A Definition

Before we define what is data collection, it’s essential to ask the question, “What is
data?” The abridged answer is, data is various kinds of information formatted in a
particular way. Therefore, data collection is the process of gathering, measuring, and
analyzing accurate data from a variety of relevant sources to find answers to research
problems, answer questions, evaluate outcomes, and forecast trends and probabilities.

Our society is highly dependent on data, which underscores the importance of collecting
it. Accurate data collection is necessary to make informed business decisions, ensure
quality assurance, and keep research integrity.

During data collection, the researchers must identify the data types, the sources of data,
and what methods are being used. We will soon see that there are many different data
collection methods. There is heavy reliance on data collection in research, commercial,
and government fields.

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?

Additionally, we can break up data into qualitative and quantitative types. Qualitative
data covers descriptions such as color, size, quality, and appearance. Quantitative data,
unsurprisingly, deals with numbers, such as statistics, poll numbers, percentages, etc.
What Are the Different Methods of Data Collection?

The following are seven methods of collecting data in business analytics

• Surveys

• Transactional Tracking

• Interviews and Focus Groups

• Observation

• Online Tracking

• Forms

• Social Media Monitoring

Now that you know what is data collection, let's take a look at the different methods of
data collection. While the phrase “data collection” may sound all high-tech and digital, it
doesn’t necessarily entail things like computers, big data, and the internet. Data
collection could mean a telephone survey, a mail-in comment card, or even some guy
with a clipboard asking passersby some questions. But let’s see if we can sort the
different data collection methods into a semblance of organized categories.

Data collection breaks down into two methods. As a side note, many terms, such as
techniques, methods, and types, are interchangeable and depending on who uses them.
One source may call data collection techniques “methods,” for instance. But whatever
labels we use, the general concepts and breakdowns apply across the board whether
we’re talking about marketing analysis or a scientific research project.
The two methods are:

• Primary.

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. However, there’s a downside, as first-hand research
is potentially time-consuming and expensive.

• Secondary.

Secondary data is 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. Simply put,
it’s second-hand information. 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

Let’s get into specifics. Using the primary/secondary methods mentioned above, here is
a breakdown of specific techniques.

Primary Data Collection

• Interviews.

• Projective Technique.

• Delphi Technique.
 • Focus Groups.

• Questionnaires.

Secondary Data Collection

Unlike primary data collection, there are no specific collection methods. Instead, since
the information has already been collected, the researcher consults various data
sources, such as:

• Financial Statements

• Sales Reports

• Retailer/Distributor/Deal Feedback

• Customer Personal Information (e.g., name, address, age, contact info)

• Business Journals

• Government Records (e.g., census, tax records, Social Security info)

• Trade/Business Magazines

• The internet

2.
Interviews
Interviewing people is a standard method used for data collection. However,
the interviews conducted to collect quantitative data are more structured,
wherein the researchers ask only a standard set of questionnaires and
nothing more than that.

There are three major types of interviews conducted for data collection

• Telephone interviews: For years, telephone interviews ruled the

charts of data collection methods. However, nowadays, there is a
significant rise in conducting video interviews using the internet,
Skype, or similar online video calling platforms.
• Face-to-face interviews: It is a proven technique to collect data
directly from the participants. It helps in acquiring quality data as it
provides a scope to ask detailed questions and probing further to
collect rich and informative data. Literacy requirements of the
participant are irrelevant as F2F surveys offer ample opportunities to
collect non-verbal data through observation or to explore complex
and unknown issues. Although it can be an expensive and time-
consuming method, the response rates for F2F interviews are often
higher.
• Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI): It is nothing but a
similar setup of the face-to-face interview where the interviewer
carries a desktop or laptop along with him at the time of interview
to upload the data obtained from the interview directly into the
database. CAPI saves a lot of time in updating and processing the
data and also makes the entire process paperless as the interviewer
does not carry a bunch of papers and questionnaires.

Surveys/questionnaires
Surveys or questionnaires created using online survey software are playing
a pivotal role in online data collection be is quantitative or qualitative
research. The surveys are designed in a manner to legitimize the behavior
and trust of the respondents. More often, checklists and rating scale type of
questions make the bulk of quantitative surveys as it helps in simplifying
and quantifying the attitude or behavior of the respondents.

There are two significant types of survey questionnaires used to collect

online data for quantitative market research.
 • Web-based questionnaire: This is one of the ruling and most trusted
methods for internet-based research or online research. In a web-
based questionnaire, the receive an email containing the survey
link, clicking on which takes the respondent to a secure online
survey tool from where he/she can take the survey or fill in the
survey questionnaire. Being a cost-efficient, quicker, and having a
wider reach, web-based surveys are more preferred by the
researchers. The primary benefit of a web-based questionnaire is
flexibility; respondents are free to take the survey in their free time
using either a desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile.
• Mail Questionnaire: In a mail questionnaire, the survey is mailed out
to a host of the sample population, enabling the researcher to
connect with a wide range of audiences. The mail questionnaire
typically consists of a packet containing a cover sheet that
introduces the audience about the type of research and reason why
it is being conducted along with a prepaid return to collect data
online. Although the mail questionnaire has a higher churn rate
compared to other quantitative data collection methods, adding
certain perks such as reminders and incentives to complete the
survey help in drastically improving the churn rate. One of the
major benefits of the mail questionnaire is all the responses are
anonymous, and respondents are allowed to take as much time as
they want to complete the survey and be completely honest about
the answer without the fear of prejudice.

Observations
As the name suggests, it is a pretty simple and straightforward method of
collecting quantitative data. In this method, researchers collect quantitative
data through systematic observations by using techniques like counting the
number of people present at the specific event at a particular time and a
particular venue or number of people attending the event in a designated
place. More often, for quantitative data collection, the researchers have a
naturalistic observation approach that needs keen observation skills and
senses for getting the numerical data about the “what” and not about “why”
and ”how.”
Naturalistic observation is used to collect both types of data; qualitative
and quantitative. However, structured observation is more used to collect
quantitative rather than qualitative data.

• Structuredobservation: In this type of observation method, the

researcher has to make careful observations of one or more specific
behaviors in a more comprehensive or structured setting compared
to naturalistic or participant observation. In a structured observation,
the researchers, rather than observing everything, focus only on
very specific behaviors of interest. It allows them to quantify the
behaviors they are observing. When the observations require a
judgment on the part of the observers – it is often described as
coding, which requires a clearly defining a set of target behaviors.

Document Review in Quantitative Data Collection

Document review is a process used to collect data after reviewing the
existing documents. It is an efficient and effective way of gathering data as
documents are manageable and are the practical resource to get qualified
data from the past. Apart from strengthening and supporting the research
by providing supplementary research data document review has emerged
as one of the beneficial methods to gather quantitative research data.

Three primary document types are being analyzed for collecting supporting
quantitative research data

• Public Records: Under this document review, official, ongoing records

of an organization are analyzed for further research. For example,
annual reports policy manuals, student activities, game activities in
the university, etc.
• Personal Documents: In contrast to public documents, this type of
document review deals with individual personal accounts of
individuals’ actions, behavior, health, physique, etc. For example,
the height and weight of the students, distance students are
traveling to attend the school, etc.
• Physical Evidence: Physical evidence or physical documents deal with
previous achievements of an individual or of an organization in
terms of monetary and scalable growth.
3.
Individual interview:
It is one of the most trusted, widely used, and most familiar qualitative data
collection methods primarily because of its approach. An individual or a
face-to-face interview is a direct conversation between two people with a
specific structure and purpose. The interview questionnaire is designed in
the manner to elicit the interviewee’s knowledge or perspective related to a
topic, program, or issue.

At times, depending on the interviewer’s approach, the conversation can be

unstructured or informal but focused on understanding the individual’s
beliefs, values, understandings, feelings, experiences, and perspectives of
an issue. More often, the interviewer chooses to ask open-ended questions
in individual interviews. If the interviewee selects answers from a set of
given options, it becomes a structured, fixed response, or a biased
discussion.

The individual interview is an ideal qualitative data collection method,

particularly when the researchers want highly personalized information
from the participants. The individual interview is a notable method if the
interviewer decides to probe further and ask follow-up questions to gain
more insights.

Qualitative surveys:
To develop an informed hypothesis, many researchers use qualitative
surveys for data collection or to collect a piece of detailed information
about a product or an issue. If you want to create questionnaires for
collecting textual or qualitative data, then ask more open-ended questions.
To answer such questions, the respondent has to write his/her opinion or
perspective concerning a specific topic or issue. Unlike other qualitative
data collection methods, online surveys have a wider reach wherein many
people can provide you quality data that is highly credible and valuable.

• Paper surveys
The paper questionnaires are frequently used for qualitative data collection
from the participants. The survey consists of short text questions, which are
often open-ended. These questions’ motive is to collect as much detailed
information as possible in the respondents’ own words. More often, the
survey questionnaires are designed to collect standardized data hence
used to collect responses from a larger population or large sample size.

• Onlinesurveys
An online survey or a web survey is prepared using a prominent
online survey software and either uploaded in a website or emailed to the
selected sample size with a motive to collect reliable online data. Instead of
writing down responses, the respondents use computers and keyboards to
type their answers. With an online survey questionnaire, it becomes easier
and smoother to collect qualitative data.

In addition to that, online surveys have a wider reach, and the respondent
is not pressurized to answer each question under the interviewer’s
supervision. One of the significant benefits that online surveys offer is that
they allow the respondents to take the survey on any device, be it a
desktop, tablet, or mobile.

Focus group discussions:

Focus group discussions can also be considered a type of interview, but it is
conducted in a group discussion setting. Usually, the focus group consists
of 8 – 10 people (the size may vary depending on the researcher’s
requirement). The researchers ensure appropriate space is given to the
participants to discuss a topic or issue in a context. The participants are
allowed to either agree or disagree with each other’s comments.

With a focused group discussion, researchers know how a particular group

of participants perceives the topic. Researchers analyze what participants
think of an issue, the range of opinions expressed, and the ideas discussed.
The data is collected by noting down the variations or inconsistencies (if
any exists) in the participants, especially in terms of belief, experiences,
and practice.
The participants of focused group discussions are selected based on the
topic or issues for which the researcher wants actionable insights. For
example, is the research is about the recovery of college students from
drug addiction, the participants have to be a college student, studying and
recovering from the drug addiction.

Other parameters such as age, qualification, financial background, social

presence, and demographics are also considered but not primarily, as the
group needs diverse participants. Frequently, the qualitative data collected
through focused group discussion is more descriptive and highly detailed.

Observations:
Observation is one of the traditional qualitative data collection methods
used by researchers to gather descriptive text data by observing people
and their behavior at events or in their natural settings. In this method, the
researcher is completely immersed in watching or seeing people by taking a
participatory stance to take down notes. Aside from taking notes, different
techniques such as videos, photographs, audio recordings, tangible items
like artifacts, and souvenirs are also be used.

There are two main types of observation,

• Covert: In this method, the observer is concealed without letting

anyone know that they are being observed. For example, a
researcher studying the rituals of a wedding in nomadic tribes must
join them as a guest and quietly see everything that goes around
him.
• Overt: In this method, everyone is aware that they are being watched.
For example, A researcher or an observer wants to study the
wedding rituals of a nomadic tribe. To proceed with the research,
the observer or researcher can reveal why he is attending the
marriage and even use a video camera to shoot everything around
him.
Observation is a useful qualitative data collection method, especially when
you want to study the ongoing process, situation, or reactions on a specific
issue related to the people being observed.
Even when you want to understand people’s behavior or their way of
interaction in a particular community or demographic, you can rely on the
observation data. Remember, if you fail to get quality data through
surveys, qualitative interviews, or group discussions, rely on observation. It
is the best and trusted qualitative data collection method to
generate qualitative data as it requires equal to no efforts from the
participants.

4.
Pilot studies can play a very important role prior to conducting a full-
scale research project
A pilot study, also called a 'feasibility' study, is a small scale preliminary study
conducted before any large-scale quantitative research in order to evaluate the
potential for a future, full-scale project.
Pilot studies are a fundamental stage of the research process. They can help
identify design issues and evaluate feasibility, practicality, resources, time, and
cost of a study before the main research is conducted.
It involves selecting a few people and trying out the study on them. It is possible
to save time, and in some cases, money, by identifying any flaws in the
procedures designed by the researcher.
A pilot study can help the researcher spot any ambiguities (i.e. unusual things) or
confusion in the information given to participants or problems with the task
devised.
Sometimes the task is too hard, and the researcher may get a floor effect, because
none of the participants can score at all or can complete the task – all
performances are low. The opposite effect is a ceiling effect, when the task is so
easy that all achieve virtually full marks or top performances and are “hitting the
ceiling”.
This enables researchers to predict an appropriate sample size, budget
accordingly, and improve upon the study design prior to performing a full-scale
project.
Pilot studies also provide researchers with preliminary data so they can gain
insight into the potential results of their proposed experiment.
However, pilot studies should not be used to test hypotheses since the
appropriate power and sample size are not calculated. Rather, pilot studies
should be used to assess the feasibility of participant recruitment or study design.
By conducting a pilot study, researchers will be better prepared to face the
challenges that might arise in the larger study, and they will be more confident
with the instruments they will use for data collection.
In some studies, multiple pilot studies may be needed and qualitative and/or
quantitative methods may be used.
In order to avoid bias, pilot studies are usually carried out on individuals who are
as similar as possible to the target population, but not on those who will be a part
of the final sample.
It is important to conduct a questionnaire pilot study for the following
reasons:
• Check that respondents understand the terminology used in the
questionnaire.
• Check that emotive questions have not been used as they make people
defensive and could invalidate their answers.
• Check that leading questions have not been used as they could bias the
respondent's answer.
• Ensure the questionnaire can be completed in an appropriate time frame
(i.e., it's not too long).

Advantages of Pilot Studies

• Increasing research quality
• Assessing the practicality and feasibility of the main study
• Testing the efficacy of research instruments
• Identifying and addressing any weaknesses or logistical problems
• Collecting preliminary data
• Estimating the time and costs required for the project
• Determining what resources are needed for the study
• Identifying the necessity to modify procedures that do not elicit useful data
 • Adding credibility and dependability to the study
• Pretesting the interview format
• Enabling researchers to develop consistent practices and familiarize
themselves with the procedures in the protocol
• Addressing safety issues and management problems

Limitations of Pilot Studies

• Require extra costs, time, and resources.
• Do not guarantee the success of the main study.
• Contamination (ie: if data from the pilot study or pilot participants are
included in the main study results).
• Funding bodies may be reluctant to fund a further study if the pilot study
results are published.
• Do not have the power to assess treatment effects due to small sample size.

5.

Reliability and validity are closely related, but they mean different things. A
measurement can be reliable without being valid. However, if a measurement is valid, it
is usually also reliable.

Reliability

Reliability refers to how consistently a method measures something. If the same result
can be consistently achieved by using the same methods under the same
circumstances, the measurement is considered reliable.

You measure the temperature of a liquid sample several times under identical conditions. The
thermometer displays the same temperature every time, so the results are reliable.
A doctor uses a symptom questionnaire to diagnose a patient with a long-term medical
condition. Several different doctors use the same questionnaire with the same patient but give
different diagnoses. This indicates that the questionnaire has low reliability as a measure of the
condition.

Validity
Validity refers to how accurately a method measures what it is intended to measure. If
research has high validity, that means it produces results that correspond to real
properties, characteristics, and variations in the physical or social world.

High reliability is one indicator that a measurement is valid. If a method is not reliable, it
probably isn’t valid.

If the thermometer shows different temperatures each time, even though you have
carefully controlled conditions to ensure the sample’s temperature stays the same, the
thermometer is probably malfunctioning, and therefore its measurements are not valid.

If a symptom questionnaire results in a reliable diagnosis when answered at different times and
with different doctors, this indicates that it has high validity as a measurement of the medical
condition.

However, reliability on its own is not enough to ensure validity. Even if a test is reliable,
it may not accurately reflect the real situation.

The thermometer that you used to test the sample gives reliable results. However, the
thermometer has not been calibrated properly, so the result is 2 degrees lower than the true
value. Therefore, the measurement is not valid.
A group of participants take a test designed to measure working memory. The results are
reliable, but participants’ scores correlate strongly with their level of reading comprehension.
This indicates that the method might have low validity: the test may be measuring participants’
reading comprehension instead of their working memory.

Validity is harder to assess than reliability, but it is even more important. To obtain
useful results, the methods you use to collect your data must be valid: the research
must be measuring what it claims to measure. This ensures that your discussion of the
data and the conclusions you draw are also valid.