It is the method in collecting or gathering statistical data that the researcher sees the situation
The most critical objective of data collection is ensuring that information-rich and reliable data is collected for statistical analysis so that data-driven decisions can be made for research. Show
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Data collection is the procedure of collecting, measuring and analyzing accurate insights for research using standard validated techniques. A researcher can evaluate their hypothesis on the basis of collected data. In most cases, data collection is the primary and most important step for research, irrespective of the field of research. The approach of data collection is different for different fields of study, depending on the required information. Data Collection MethodsPhone vs. Online vs. In-Person InterviewsEssentially 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 have to interview enough people to weed out the fringe elements. A couple of years ago there was quite a lot of discussion about online surveys and their statistical validity. 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. Learn more: Quantitative Market Research In 2001 nearly 50% of the households had a computer. Nearly 55% of all households with an income of more than 35,000 have internet access, and this 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:
Keep in mind, the reach here is defined as “All U.S. Households.” In most cases, you need to take a look at how many of your customers are online and make a determination. 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. Learn more: Qualitative Market Research Multi-Mode SurveysSurveys, 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. Learn more: Survey Research Data Collection ExamplesData 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 as well as the mediator. The topic of discussion and objective behind conducting a focus group should be made clear 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. Reasons to Conduct Online Research and Data CollectionFeedback 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. Learn more: Online Research Conducting Customer Surveys for Data Collection to Multiply SalesIt 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. Learn more: Research Design 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 advances in technology 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. Learn more: Survey Research Steps to Effectively Conduct an Online Survey for Data CollectionSo, you’ve decided to conduct an online survey. There are a few questions in your mind that you would like answered and you are on the lookout for a fast and inexpensive way to find out more about your customers, clients etc. The first and foremost thing you need to decide what the 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 means of gathering data 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. Learn more: Qualitative Data
Online surveys have over the course of time, evolved into an effective alternative to expensive mail or telephone surveys. There are a few conditions which need to be met to online surveys however that you must be aware of. If you are trying to survey a sample which represents the target population, please keep in mind that not everyone is online. Moreover, not everyone is receptive to an online survey also. Generally, the demographic segmentation belonging to younger individuals are inclined towards responding to an online survey. Survey Design for Data Collection
Writing great questions can be considered by an art. Art always requires a significant amount of hard work, practice, and help from others.
A small change in content can produce effective results. Words such as could, should, 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, which represent control or action also produce similar results. For example, “Do you believe that 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 have reference to the intended context, 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 and towards the end, demographic or geographic questions should be included.
Multiple choice answers should be mutually unique in order 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, and other such terms and acronyms can be confusing for respondents. Ensure that the audience understands your language level, terminology and above all, the question you ask.
What suggestions do you have for improving our shoes? The question is about quality in general, but the respondent may offer suggestions about texture, the type of shoes or variants.
There will always be certain questions which cross certain privacy rules and since privacy is an important issue for most people, these questions should either be eliminated from the survey or not kept as mandatory. Survey questions about income, family income and 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.
Unbalanced answer options in scales such as Likert Scale and Semantic Scale may be appropriate for some situations and biased in others. When analyzing a pattern in eating habits, a study used a quantity scale that made obese people appear in the middle of the scale with the polar ends reflecting a state where people starve and an irrational amount to consume. There are cases where we usually would not expect poor service such as hospitals.
What is the fastest and most convenient ISP for your location? The fastest ISP would be expensive and the less expensive ones will most likely be slow. To understand both factors, two separate questions should be asked.
Dichotomous questions are used in case you want a distinct answer, for example – Yes/No, Male/Female. For example, the question “Do you think Hillary Clinton will win the election?” – The answer can either 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. Analyze your survey data to gauge in-depth market drivers that include competitive intelligence, purchasing behavior, and price sensitivity. Obtain accurate insights with a host of techniques including conjoint analysis, MaxDiff analysis, sentiment analysis, TURF analysis, heatmap analysis, etc. Export quality data to external analysis tools such as SPSS and R Software, and integrate your research with external business applications. What are the methods of collecting statistical data?There are many methods used to collect or obtain data for statistical analysis. Three of the most popular methods are: Direct Observation • Experiments, and • Surveys.
What is the technique in collecting data for a research?Data collection techniques include interviews, observations (direct and participant), questionnaires, and relevant documents (Yin, 2014).
What are the 4 types of data collection?Data may be grouped into four main types based on methods for collection: observational, experimental, simulation, and derived. The type of research data you collect may affect the way you manage that data.
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