Data Collection

The word data is the Latin plural of the word datum, which itself is the past participle of the verb dare (DAH-reh), meaning “to give.” So, it literally means “things given.” Data is often used as a singular noun in English—what we call an “uncountable,” or a “mass term,” like “water,” “energy,” “information,” and so on, although the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary states that there is uncertainty with “data” as to whether it is singular or plural, and both are acceptable. But careful writers only ever use it as plural. Although data are useful to generate information, knowledge, and wisdom, they in themselves are not treated as information or knowledge. What, then, are data?Although the lexicon meaning of data is facts or information, data need not be facts or information. Data are subjective and objective human experiences, feelings, attitudes, beliefs, values, perceptions, views, opinions, judgments, and so on. They are also objective facts in the universe, interactions between human beings and objective facts, and human subjective construction of objects and facts, irrespective of their object and factual reality. Thus, some data are readily available as “things given,” whereas some data need to be diligently discovered and collected with ethical considerations, depending upon the research problem, need, and the researcher.

Many of us naturally and generally collect data, make sense of them, and use the same for better living. In the research world, purposeful and systematic data collection is an important and essential activity. It is one of the significant elements or phases within the research design that is followed by the research problem formulation (objectives, hypotheses, research questions, concepts, and variables); the selection of research; and sampling methods. It is preceded by data analysis and interpretation, and report reporting phases. Because data collection occupies a crucial phase in the research design, no research can be conducted without data. To a significant extent, the quality and impact of research depends upon high-quality, accurate, and uncontaminated data. In view of the significance and relevance of the data collection process for researchers, it may be delineated and discussed by addressing the following questions: Why do researchers collect data? What are the types of data? What are the data collection methods? When should data be collected? What are the ethical issues in collecting data, and how should researchers deal with them? What factors are likely to affect the quality of data? How can researchers minimize the factors that are likely to negatively affect the quality of data?