Before collecting data, it’s worth-noting that having a good question is important

Having asked a good question is having a question half-solved

Approaches to Data Collection

• Primary collection: New information collected directly
  • WE perform collection step and can tailor it to our needs
  • Time and resource consuming
• Secondary collection: Existing data that is already collected by others
  • We can just simply use it
  • But we have no control over what is in that data

Primary Data collection

Eg: Surveys, Interviews, Focus groups, Social Media monitoring

Problem: Risk in affecting their response by the way you frame the question

• Quantitative: have a prescribed set of parameters or metrics we seek to learn more about. Need categories upfront
• Qualitative observations: take detailed notes regarding sentiment or behavior we seek to capture. Do not need categories upfront

Ideally: can observe how people really behave

Caveat: people may behave differently knowing they are being asked

Secondary Data Collection

Eg: Government statistics, Industry associations, Trade publication, Company Websites, Market research reports

• Much larger set of sources
• Heterogeneous data that comes in all shapes and sizes
• No control over its validity, timeliness, accuracy etc.
• Drawn conclusions can be limited or plain wrong

Data Collection Procedure

Steps we need to take to ensure the collected data is consistent, accurate, and unbiased