→ What is Data Collection?
Data collection is a standout amongst the most essential stages in carrying on a research. You can have the best research plan in the world, however, in the event that you can’t gather the necessary data you will not have the capacity to complete your venture. Data collection is an extremely challenging work which needs exhaustive planning, diligent work, understanding, determination and more to have the capacity to complete the assignment effectively. Data collection begins with figuring out what sort of data is needed, followed by the collection of a sample from a certain section of the population. Next, you have to utilize a certain tool to gather the data from the chosen sample.
→ Sources of Data Collection
Normally we can gather data from two sources namely primary and secondary. Data gathered through perception or questionnaire review in a characteristic setting are illustrations of data obtained in an uncontrolled situation. Secondary data is the data acquired from optional sources like magazines, books, documents, journals, reports, the web and more. The chart below describes the flow of the sources of data collection.
→ Sources of Primary Data Collection
Primary data will be the data that you gather particularly with the end goal of your research venture. Leverage of Primary data is that it is particularly customized to your analysis needs. A drawback is that it is costly to get hold of. Primary data is otherwise called raw information; the information gathered from the first source in a controlled or an uncontrolled situation. Cases of a controlled domain are experimental studies where certain variables are being controlled by the analyst.
The source of primary data is the populace test from which you gather the information. The initial phase in the process is deciding your target populace. For instance, if you are looking into the attractiveness of another washing machine, your target populace may be newly-weds.
Clearly, it’s impracticable to gather information from everybody, so you will need to focus on the sample size and kind of sample. The specimen ought to be arbitrary and a stratified random sample is frequently sensible. In our washing machine illustration, sub populations may incorporate adolescent couples, moderately aged couples, old couples, and previously wedded couples.
→ Sources of Secondary Data Collection
You can break the sources of secondary data into internal as well as external sources. Inner sources incorporate data that exists and is stored in your organization. External data refers to the data that is gathered by other individuals or associations from your association’s outer environment.
Examples of inner sources of data incorporate, but are not restricted only to, the following:
- Statement of the profit and loss
- Balance sheets
- Sales figures
- Inventory records
- Previous marketing studies
If the secondary data you have gathered from internal sources is not sufficient, you can turn to outside sources of data collection, some outside sources of data collection include:
- Universities
- Government sources
- Foundations
- Media, including telecast, print and Internet
- Trade, business and expert affiliations
- Corporate filings
- Commercial information administrations, which are organizations that find the data for you