Data Collection | Definition, Methods & Examples

Data collection is a systematic process of gathering observations or measurements.

Whether you are performing research for business, governmental or academic
purposes, data collection allows you to gain first-hand knowledge and original
insights into your research problem.

While methods and aims may differ between fields, the overall process of data
collection remains largely the same. Before you begin collecting data, you need to
consider:

 The aim of the research

 The type of data that you will collect
 The methods and procedures you will use to collect, store, and process the
data

To collect high-quality data that is relevant to your purposes, follow these four steps.

Table of contents

1. Step 1: Define the aim of your research

2. Step 2: Choose your data collection method
3. Step 3: Plan your data collection procedures
4. Step 4: Collect the data
5. Frequently asked questions about data collection
Step 1: Define the aim of your research

Before you start the process of data collection, you need to identify exactly what you
want to achieve. You can start by writing a problem statement: what is the practical
or scientific issue that you want to address and why does it matter?

Next, formulate one or more research questions that precisely define what you want
to find out. Depending on your research questions, you might need to
collect quantitative or qualitative data:

 Quantitative data is expressed in numbers and graphs and is analyzed

through statistical methods.
 Qualitative data is expressed in words and analyzed through interpretations
and categorizations.

If your aim is to test a hypothesis, measure something precisely, or gain large-scale

statistical insights, collect quantitative data. If your aim is to explore ideas,
understand experiences, or gain detailed insights into a specific context, collect
qualitative data. If you have several aims, you can use a mixed methods
approach that collects both types of data.

Examples of quantitative and qualitative research aimsYou are researching

employee perceptions of their direct managers in a large organization.

 Your first aim is to assess whether there are significant differences in

perceptions of managers across different departments and office locations.
 Your second aim is to gather meaningful feedback from employees to explore
new ideas for how managers can improve.
You decide to use a mixed-methods approach to collect both quantitative and
qualitative data.

Step 2: Choose your data collection method

Based on the data you want to collect, decide which method is best suited for your
research.

 Experimental research is primarily a quantitative method.

 Interviews, focus groups, and ethnographies are qualitative methods.
 Surveys, observations, archival research and secondary data collection can be
quantitative or qualitative methods.

Carefully consider what method you will use to gather data that helps you directly
answer your research questions.
Step 3: Plan your data collection procedures

When you know which method(s) you are using, you need to plan exactly how you
will implement them. What procedures will you follow to make accurate
observations or measurements of the variables you are interested in?

For instance, if you’re conducting surveys or interviews, decide what form the
questions will take; if you’re conducting an experiment, make decisions about
your experimental design (e.g., determine inclusion and exclusion criteria).

Operationalization

Sometimes your variables can be measured directly: for example, you can collect
data on the average age of employees simply by asking for dates of birth. However,
often you’ll be interested in collecting data on more abstract concepts or variables
that can’t be directly observed.
Operationalization means turning abstract conceptual ideas into measurable
observations. When planning how you will collect data, you need to translate the
conceptual definition of what you want to study into the operational definition of
what you will actually measure.

Example of operationalizationYou have decided to use surveys to collect

quantitative data. The concept you want to measure is the leadership of managers.
You operationalize this concept in two ways:

 You ask managers to rate their own leadership skills on 5-point scales
assessing the ability to delegate, decisiveness and dependability.
 You ask their direct employees to provide anonymous feedback on the
managers regarding the same topics.

Using multiple ratings of a single concept can help you cross-check your data and
assess the test validity of your measures.

Sampling

You may need to develop a sampling plan to obtain data systematically. This
involves defining a population, the group you want to draw conclusions about, and
a sample, the group you will actually collect data from.

Your sampling method will determine how you recruit participants or obtain
measurements for your study. To decide on a sampling method you will need to
consider factors like the required sample size, accessibility of the sample, and
timeframe of the data collection.
Standardizing procedures

If multiple researchers are involved, write a detailed manual to standardize data

collection procedures in your study.

This means laying out specific step-by-step instructions so that everyone in your
research team collects data in a consistent way – for example, by conducting
experiments under the same conditions and using objective criteria to record and
categorize observations. This helps you avoid common research biases like omitted
variable bias or information bias.

This helps ensure the reliability of your data, and you can also use it to replicate the
study in the future.

Creating a data management plan

Before beginning data collection, you should also decide how you will organize and
store your data.

 If you are collecting data from people, you will likely need to anonymize and
safeguard the data to prevent leaks of sensitive information (e.g. names or
identity numbers).
 If you are collecting data via interviews or pencil-and-paper formats, you will
need to perform transcriptions or data entry in systematic ways to minimize
distortion.
 You can prevent loss of data by having an organization system that is routinely
backed up.
Step 4: Collect the data

Finally, you can implement your chosen methods to measure or observe the variables
you are interested in.

Examples of collecting qualitative and quantitative dataTo collect data about

perceptions of managers, you administer a survey with closed- and open-ended
questions to a sample of 300 company employees across different departments and
locations.

The closed-ended questions ask participants to rate their manager’s leadership skills
on scales from 1–5. The data produced is numerical and can be statistically analyzed
for averages and patterns.

The open-ended questions ask participants for examples of what the manager is
doing well now and what they can do better in the future. The data produced is
qualitative and can be categorized through content analysis for further insights.
To ensure that high quality data is recorded in a systematic way, here are some best
practices:

 Record all relevant information as and when you obtain data. For example,
note down whether or how lab equipment is recalibrated during an
experimental study.
 Double-check manual data entry for errors.
 If you collect quantitative data, you can assess the reliability and validity to
get an indication of your data quality.

Frequently asked questions about data collection

What is data collection?

 Data collection is the systematic process by which observations or
measurements are gathered in research. It is used in many different contexts
by academics, governments, businesses, and other organizations.

What are the benefits of collecting data?

When conducting research, collecting original data has significant

advantages:

 You can tailor data collection to your specific research aims (e.g.
understanding the needs of your consumers or user testing your
website)
 You can control and standardize the process for high reliability and
validity (e.g. choosing appropriate measurements and sampling
methods)

However, there are also some drawbacks: data collection can be time-
consuming, labor-intensive and expensive. In some cases, it’s more efficient
to use secondary data that has already been collected by someone else, but the
data might be less reliable.

What’s the difference between quantitative and qualitative methods?

What’s the difference between reliability and validity?

Reliability and validity are both about how well a method measures
something:

 Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure (whether the results

can be reproduced under the same conditions).
  Validity refers to the accuracy of a measure (whether the results really
do represent what they are supposed to measure).

If you are doing experimental research, you also have to consider the internal
and external validity of your experiment.

What is operationalization?

Operationalization means turning abstract conceptual ideas into measurable

observations.

For example, the concept of social anxiety isn’t directly observable, but it can
be operationally defined in terms of self-rating scores, behavioral avoidance
of crowded places, or physical anxiety symptoms in social situations.

Before collecting data, it’s important to consider how you will operationalize
the variables that you want to measure.

What is mixed methods research?

In mixed methods research, you use both qualitative and quantitative data
collection and analysis methods to answer your research question.