Let’s face it, no one wants to make decisions based on guesswork or gut feelings. The most important objective of data collection is to ensure that the data gathered is reliable and packed to the brim with juicy insights that can be analyzed and turned into data-driven decisions. There’s nothing better than good statistical analysis .
Collecting high-quality data is essential for conducting market research, analyzing user behavior, or just trying to get a handle on business operations. With the right approach and a few handy tools, gathering reliable and informative data.
So, let’s get ready to collect some data because when it comes to data collection, it’s all about the details.
Data collection is the procedure of collecting, measuring, and analyzing accurate insights for research using standard validated techniques.
Put simply, data collection is the process of gathering information for a specific purpose. It can be used to answer research questions, make informed business decisions, or improve products and services.
To collect data, we must first identify what information we need and how we will collect it. We can also evaluate a hypothesis based on collected data. In most cases, data collection is the primary and most important step for research. The approach to data collection is different for different fields of study, depending on the required information.
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There are many ways to collect information when doing research. The data collection methods that the researcher chooses will depend on the research question posed. Some data collection methods include surveys, interviews, tests, physiological evaluations, observations, reviews of existing records, and biological samples. Let’s explore them.
Essentially there are four choices for data collection – in-person interviews, mail, phone, and online. There are pros and cons to each of these modes.
In-person interviews always are better, but the big drawback is the trap you might fall into if you don’t do them regularly. It is expensive to regularly conduct interviews and not conducting enough interviews might give you false positives. Validating your research is almost as important as designing and conducting it.
We’ve seen many instances where after the research is conducted – if the results do not match up with the “gut-feel” of upper management, it has been dismissed off as anecdotal and a “one-time” phenomenon. To avoid such traps, we strongly recommend that data-collection be done on an “ongoing and regular” basis.
This will help you compare and analyze the change in perceptions according to marketing for your products/services. The other issue here is sample size. To be confident with your research, you must interview enough people to weed out the fringe elements.
A couple of years ago there was a lot of discussion about online surveys and their statistical analysis plan. The fact that not every customer had internet connectivity was one of the main concerns.
Although some of the discussions are still valid, the reach of the internet as a means of communication has become vital in the majority of customer interactions. According to the US Census Bureau, the number of households with computers has doubled between 1997 and 2001.
In 2001 nearly 50% of households had a computer. Nearly 55% of all households with an income of more than 35,000 have internet access, which jumps to 70% for households with an annual income of 50,000. This data is from the US Census Bureau for 2001.
There are primarily three modes of data collection that can be employed to gather feedback – Mail, Phone, and Online. The method actually used for data collection is really a cost-benefit analysis. There is no slam-dunk solution but you can use the table below to understand the risks and advantages associated with each of the mediums:
| Survey Medium | Cost per Response | Data Quality/Integrity | Reach (ALL US Households) |
| Paper | $20 – $30 | Medium | 100% |
| Phone | $20 – $35 | High | 95% |
| Online / Email | $1 – $5 | Medium | 50-70% |
Keep in mind, the reach here is defined as “All U.S. Households.” In most cases, you need to look at how many of your customers are online and determine. If all your customers have email addresses, you have a 100% reach of your customers.
Another important thing to keep in mind is the ever-increasing dominance of cellular phones over landline phones. United States FCC rules prevent automated dialing and calling cellular phone numbers and there is a noticeable trend towards people having cellular phones as the only voice communication device.
This introduces the inability to reach cellular phone customers who are dropping home phone lines in favor of going entirely wireless. Even if automated dialing is not used, another FCC rule prohibits from phoning anyone who would have to pay for the call.
Surveys, where the data is collected via different modes (online, paper, phone etc.), is also another way of going. It is fairly straightforward and easy to have an online survey and have data-entry operators to enter in data (from the phone as well as paper surveys) into the system. The same system can also be used to collect data directly from the respondents.
Data collection is an important aspect of research. Let’s consider an example of a mobile manufacturer, company X, which is launching a new product variant. To conduct research about features, price range, target market, competitor analysis, etc. data has to be collected from appropriate sources.
The marketing team can conduct various data collection activities such as online surveys or focus groups.
The survey should have all the right questions about features and pricing, such as “What are the top 3 features expected from an upcoming product?” or “How much are your likely to spend on this product?” or “Which competitors provide similar products?” etc.
For conducting a focus group, the marketing team should decide the participants and the mediator. The topic of discussion and objective behind conducting a focus group should be clarified beforehand to conduct a conclusive discussion.
Data collection methods are chosen depending on the available resources. For example, conducting questionnaires and surveys would require the least resources, while focus groups require moderately high resources.
Feedback is a vital part of any organization’s growth. Whether you conduct regular focus groups to elicit information from key players or, your account manager calls up all your marquee accounts to find out how things are going – essentially they are all processes to find out from your customers’ eyes – How are we doing? What can we do better?
Online surveys are just another medium to collect feedback from your customers, employees and anyone your business interacts with. With the advent of Do-It-Yourself tools for online surveys, data collection on the internet has become really easy, cheap and effective.
It is a well-established marketing fact that acquiring a new customer is 10 times more difficult and expensive than retaining an existing one. This is one of the fundamental driving forces behind the extensive adoption and interest in CRM and related customer retention tactics.
In a research study conducted by Rice University Professor Dr. Paul Dholakia and Dr. Vicki Morwitz, published in Harvard Business Review, the experiment inferred that the simple fact of asking customers how an organization was performing by itself to deliver results proved to be an effective customer retention strategy.
In the research study, conducted over the course of a year, one set of customers were sent out a satisfaction and opinion survey and the other set was not surveyed. In the next one year, the group that took the survey saw twice the number of people continuing and renewing their loyalty towards the organization data.
The research study provided a couple of interesting reasons on the basis of consumer psychology, behind this phenomenon:
Surveys should be considered as a critical tool in the customer journey dialog. The best thing about surveys is its ability to carry “bi-directional” information. The research conducted by Paul Dholakia and Vicki Morwitz shows that surveys not only get you the information that is critical for your business, but also enhances and builds upon the established relationship you have with your customers.
Recent technological advances have made it incredibly easy to conduct real-time surveys and opinion polls . Online tools make it easy to frame questions and answers and create surveys on the Web. Distributing surveys via email, website links or even integration with online CRM tools like Salesforce.com have made online surveying a quick-win solution.
So, you’ve decided to conduct an online survey. There are a few questions in your mind that you would like answered, and you are looking for a fast and inexpensive way to find out more about your customers, clients, etc.
First and foremost thing you need to decide what the smart objectives of the study are. Ensure that you can phrase these objectives as questions or measurements. If you can’t, you are better off looking at other data sources like focus groups and other qualitative methods . The data collected via online surveys is dominantly quantitative in nature.
Review the basic objectives of the study. What are you trying to discover? What actions do you want to take as a result of the survey? – Answers to these questions help in validating collected data. Online surveys are just one way of collecting and quantifying data .
Online surveys have, over the course of time, evolved into an effective alternative to expensive mail or telephone surveys. However, you must be aware of a few conditions that need to be met for online surveys. If you are trying to survey a sample representing the target population, please remember that not everyone is online.
Moreover, not everyone is receptive to an online survey also. Generally, the demographic segmentation of younger individuals is inclined toward responding to an online survey.
Good survey design is crucial for accurate data collection. From question-wording to response options, let’s explore how to create effective surveys that yield valuable insights with our tips to survey design.
Writing great questions can be considered an art. Art always requires a significant amount of hard work, practice, and help from others.
The questions in a survey need to be clear, concise, and unbiased. A poorly worded question or a question with leading language can result in inaccurate or irrelevant responses, ultimately impacting the data’s validity.
Moreover, the questions should be relevant and specific to the research objectives. Questions that are irrelevant or do not capture the necessary information can lead to incomplete or inconsistent responses too.
A small change in content can produce effective results. Words such as could, should and might are all used for almost the same purpose, but may produce a 20% difference in agreement to a question. For example, “The management could.. should.. might.. have shut the factory”.
Intense words such as – prohibit or action, representing control or action, produce similar results. For example, “Do you believe Donald Trump should prohibit insurance companies from raising rates?”.
Sometimes the content is just biased. For instance, “You wouldn’t want to go to Rudolpho’s Restaurant for the organization’s annual party, would you?”
Questions should always reference the intended context, and questions placed out of order or without its requirement should be avoided. Generally, a funnel approach should be implemented – generic questions should be included in the initial section of the questionnaire as a warm-up and specific ones should follow. Toward the end, demographic or geographic questions should be included.
Multiple-choice answers should be mutually unique to provide distinct choices. Overlapping answer options frustrate the respondent and make interpretation difficult at best. Also, the questions should always be precise.
For example: “Do you like water juice?”
This question is vague. In which terms is the liking for orange juice is to be rated? – Sweetness, texture, price, nutrition etc.
Asking about industry-related terms such as caloric content, bits, bytes, MBS, as well as other terms and acronyms can confuse respondents. Ensure that the audience understands your language level, terminology, and, above all, the question you ask.
In survey design for data collection, non-directed questions can give respondents excessive leeway, which can lead to vague and unreliable data. These types of questions are also known as open-ended questions, and they do not provide any structure for the respondent to follow.
For instance, a non-directed question like “What suggestions do you have for improving our shoes?” can elicit a wide range of answers, some of which may not be relevant to the research objectives. Some respondents may give short answers, while others may provide lengthy and detailed responses, making comparing and analyzing the data challenging.
To avoid these issues, it’s essential to ask direct questions that are specific and have a clear structure. Closed-ended questions, for example, offer structured response options and can be easier to analyze as they provide a quantitative measure of respondents’ opinions.
There will always be certain questions that cross certain privacy rules. Since privacy is an important issue for most people, these questions should either be eliminated from the survey or not be kept as mandatory. Survey questions about income, family income, status, religious and political beliefs, etc., should always be avoided as they are considered to be intruding, and respondents can choose not to answer them.
In survey design for data collection, questions that cover two points can be problematic for several reasons. These types of questions are often called “double-barreled” questions and can cause confusion for respondents, leading to inaccurate or irrelevant data.
For instance, a question like “Do you like the food and the service at the restaurant?” covers two points, the food and the service, and it assumes that the respondent has the same opinion about both. If the respondent only liked the food, their opinion of the service could affect their answer.
It’s important to ask one question at a time to avoid confusion and ensure that the respondent’s answer is focused and accurate. This also applies to questions with multiple concepts or ideas. In these cases, it’s best to break down the question into multiple questions that address each concept or idea separately.
Dichotomous questions are used in case you want a distinct answer, such as: Yes/No or Male/Female. For example, the question “Do you think this candidate will win the election?” can be Yes or No.
The use of long questions will definitely increase the time taken for completion, which will generally lead to an increase in the survey dropout rate. Multiple-choice questions are the longest and most complex, and open-ended questions are the shortest and easiest to answer.
Data collection is an essential part of the research process, whether you’re conducting scientific experiments, market research, or surveys. The methods and tools used for data collection will vary depending on the research type, the sample size required, and the resources available.
Several data collection methods include surveys, observations, interviews, and focus groups. We learn each method has advantages and disadvantages, and choosing the one that best suits the research goals is important.
With the rise of technology, many tools are now available to facilitate data collection, including online survey software and data visualization tools. These tools can help researchers collect, store, and analyze data more efficiently, providing greater results and accuracy.
By understanding the various methods and tools available for data collection, we can develop a solid foundation for conducting research. With these research skills, we can make informed decisions, solve problems, and contribute to advancing our understanding of the world around us.
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