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In Jeff Weiner’s words, ‘data really powers everything that we do’. Getting deep into the meaning of Weiner’s words, we really need data to make an educated decision. Whether you are doing research for academic purposes or to increase your business revenue, data gives you the power to do so. Collecting data for research is one of the processes that determine the quality and quantity of data necessary to complete a research or to reach a certain conclusion. In this fastest evolving world, the collection of data can be done in more than a dozen of ways. Availability of such a great number of data collection methods imposes a new challenge for a researcher that is what will be the most suitable method to collect data for research? This article aims to introduce researchers with the most important ways of collecting data for research.
What Is Data Collection?
Data collection is simply data gathering, assembling, and compiling techniques necessary to collect information about a problem under study. Once all relevant information is collected by using standard techniques, data has to pass from multi-stepped cleaning and processing methods to extract useful insight from it. Broadly, data collection can be done by using two main methods, primary data collection and secondary data collection. Primary data collection refers to the techniques and methods necessary for first-hand data collection. Contrary to this, secondary data collection refers to the process of collecting data from secondary sources, including magazines, scholarly papers, credible websites, and databases.
Five Foremost Important Ways of Collecting Data For Research:
The availability of different ways of collecting data for research helps researchers effectively cope with almost all data collection challenges. In case one method fails to bring useful inferences, you can switch to another method to ensure success. Thus, the following is a brief description of both primary and secondary data collection methods.
Primary Data Collection Using Questionnaires and Surveys:
Questionnaires and surveys provide broad perspectives on a topic of discussion by considering the opinions and experiences of large groups of people. If conducted face- to face, it will be considered interviews. If sent to participants via electronic means or emails, it will be considered surveys. Surveys or questionnaires comprise various close-ended or open-ended questions exploring a topic from all possible aspects. After analysing answers gathered from surveys and questionnaires, the researcher observes pattern in the collected information and reach a conclusion based on it.
Primary Data Collection Using Focus Groups:
Focus groups are another method of collecting data for research from primary sources. It resembles interviews, but instead of getting data from specific respondents one by one, it works by calling a short meeting of a small group of experts. Different experts share their experiences or opinions, and notes taking technique is used to compile information to resolve a matter of discussion. Focus group can be challenging or time-consuming but are extremely important to find the best data to solve complicated health or other societal problems.
Primary Data Collection Experiments and Observations:
In fact, a scientific method actually starts from a logical observation. Do you remember the Newton’s work of gravity? It was started with direct observation (why an apple falls in a downward direction?). Likewise, collecting data for research observation is one of the classical methods still common due to the accuracy of the data collected by it. In observations, a researcher uses any of his five senses (taste, smell, touch, sight, and sound) to observe changes and record data to extract a conclusion.
Experiments are data collection methods that allow the researcher to gather information by being directly involved in a study. Scientists use this method when the aims and objectives of a research are to see the degree of interdependence of dependent variables on independent ones. Using this method, one can get data in the form of digital recordings that helps researchers to make an informed decision after processing data using any suitable statistical data analysis tool.
Secondary Data Collection Via Case Studies:
A case study is the most widely used method for collecting data for research. It helps researchers collect all vital information using different internet sources to solve a particular problem. By definition, case studies provide an in-depth study of a person, place, organisation, disease, or phenomenon. The purpose of case studies is to learn as much about a process as possible. It is important for researchers whose research aims cannot be completed within the premises of labs. However, before selecting it for research, it is also important to know that it gives highly specific results. To generalise its results to a large population is the biggest challenge that researchers often face.
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Secondary Data Collection by Reviewing the Literature:
Last but not least method of collecting data for research is a literature review. A literature review helps researchers to search all previously reported information on a problem and use it to give useful future insights. A review of documents and literature is useful if many similar types of research have been reported on a topic. Reviews help researchers investigate the points that need further research or elaboration. However, this method of data collection can also be used to make important questions for questionnaires and surveys to collect more focused data for research.
Deciding which one is the best method for collecting data for your research is a big challenge. The formula to make a correct decision is to define your research goals. If the research goals of your research are smart or attainable, the selection of the right method of data collection will not be difficult at all. Furthermore, dissertation writing services are also good options to overcome all data collection and research-related challenges.
Also Read: A Complete Guide To Writing a Literature Review
Final Thoughts:
All in all, it is the method of collecting data for research that decides what will be the results of your study. In short, data powers your research, so it must be collected wisely from all potential conduits by avoiding as much bias as possible. The article has provided the five most common methods that may be helpful for you to collect precise data for your research. You just need to do is to select the one that is convenient for you and can give the best results.
