Ways to Collect Data

Name: Ways to Collect Data
Author: Bernie Kuan

Discover the various ways data collection methods available and which is best for your project

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Course: On-Demand

In these lessons, we'll cover the variety of methods for collecting data, how data is collected depends on factors such as the objective, available resources, and the type of data needed. We'll explore data collection methods from the perspective of direct and indirect interactions with the data subject of interest, as well as evaluate the ways to procure already published data sets. While the number of mediums to interact with customers have increased thanks to advancing technology, both online and traditional approaches to customer interactions remain consistent. Collecting data directly from customers is usually done in the form of interviews, focus groups, surveys, and forms. One of the most straightforward ways to collect data from individuals is to conduct an interview. These are often used when it's accepted that the interviewee's knowledge and perspectives are highly valuable. The approach to an interview can be structured, where expected questions and responses are defined ahead of time. Semi-structured, where the interview has defined questions, but the interviewer has the freedom to add variability to the discussion as they see fit, or completely unstructured, where the interviewee drives the direction of the collected data based on their specific experiences. Interviews are valuable for collecting data from open questions about the participant's experience, expertise, and opinions in a way that highly structured surveys and forms can't. In addition, interviews provide the ability to investigate deeper about the individual in real time through a direct relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee. This direct relationship may further enable the individual to provide information that they might not have otherwise. Of course, the drawback to conducting interviews is that they're highly resource-intensive. The amount of time it takes to coordinate and conduct an interview is bottlenecked by staffing and therefore hard to scale. In addition, if the interview is semi-structured or unstructured, the interviewer's skills may also influence the data results. Focus groups are small groups of 8 to 10 participants with a mediator to capture data from everyone as well as observe interactions within the group. It may be seen as a more efficient way of gathering data from individuals compared to one-on-one interviews. Varying perspectives and opinions can be collected at one time. Since the individuals within the focus group are among peers, the type of information that can be collected may also be only available because of the group-based approach. While focus groups can provide more diverse data points than one-on-one interviews, managing group dynamics may require a skilled facilitator. Similar to the interview approach, using this method is limited by staffing and requires coordination efforts to manage a group of individuals. Surveys and forms are one of the most common methods of data collection. They're used to directly ask subjects predefined questions to gather data in a repeatable way. This approach often requires structure because the same survey or form is potentially given to large volumes of people. Therefore, the questions need to be somewhat standardized to be able to compare the responses of one individual to another. Surveys and forms don't require a lot of coordination among individuals because they can be distributed and completed at different times. They can be delivered in a variety of ways, from websites and emails to phone and in-person communication, and they tend to collect data quickly and efficiently. The collection of responses may also be used to identify patterns and trends. Unlike interviews or focus groups, the use of surveys and forms can't be used to explore unexpected topics. While this method still directly interacts with individuals, there's no relationship being built between the individual and the data collector. Therefore, the questions that are used need to be properly designed to be able to collect the desired data points from the participant. A longitudinal study describes a method to collect data from the same participants over a period. Whether the data has been collected through interviews or surveys, the purpose of collecting longitudinal data is to acquire data points about an individual to see if the data changes. A good example of this type of data collection is pharmaceutical companies tracking the progress of a patient's health over several years to determine the benefits and side effects of a patient's ongoing treatment. This type of data collection is time-consuming and expensive. Longitudinal studies are carefully designed and conducted because a lot of variability can occur in the process over time. Furthermore, it may be hard to consistently collect data from the same individual as there can be many ways for the study to be interrupted. Collecting data through direct interactions with individuals is a great way to gather primary data because there's typically less room for external interference. The quality of data being collected would depend on how well the data collectors design their processes. Different ways of wording questions or different interview settings may unintentionally influence different responses. A common example is the use of leading questions. If a survey or interviewer asks a question such as, how amazing was your experience with our checkout? The participant is influenced to rate the amazingness of their experience. The question makes it harder for the participant to express other types of opinions or responses. To get a more unbiased response, a better question may be, how was your checkout experience? There's a lot of science that goes into designing and conducting interviews and surveys. It's important to be aware that both the data collector and the participant may have conscious and unconscious biases that may influence the collected data results.

Beginner Provider : Bernie Kuan 4 Lessons · 19m in English

Course Description

In this course on Ways to Collect Data, you’ll learn the different options available to you and how to select the one that best suits your data collection plan.

There are many approaches and techniques for collecting data. You may choose to collect data directly from the source or through an intermediary system, or you may choose to collect the data yourself or pay a third-party service to gather the data. As the impact of using data continues to grow, available collection methods will also increase. It is important to be able to differentiate the benefits and drawbacks of different collection methods to select the most appropriate one for your project and objectives.

What You'll Learn

Identify direct and indirect data collection methods
Compare the benefits and drawbacks of different collection methods to select the most appropriate one
Collect data through direct interaction with the source
Collect data through systems and processes
Collect data through second and third parties
Select the collection approach that best suits your data collection plan

Key Takeaways

There are many approaches and techniques available for collecting data.
Data can be collected directly from the source or through an intermediary system.
You may collect data yourself or pay a third-party service to gather it.
As the impact of using data grows, available collection methods will also increase.
Differentiating the benefits and drawbacks of methods helps you select the one best suited to your project and objectives.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this course cover?

It covers the different options available for collecting data and how to select the one that best suits your data collection plan, including direct and indirect collection methods and collecting data through direct interaction, systems and processes, and second and third parties.

What are the learning objectives of this course?

The objectives are to learn direct and indirect collection methods and to explore collection methods and approaches.

Why is it important to know different data collection methods?

Because being able to differentiate the benefits and drawbacks of different collection methods lets you select the most appropriate one for your project and objectives.

What skills will I gain from this course?

The course builds skills in information gathering, data capture, data collection, data selection, remote data capture, and survey data collection.

What topics are included in the lessons?

The lessons cover collecting data through direct interaction, collecting data through systems and processes, collecting data through second and third parties, and a conclusion.