Data collection
Data collection usually takes place early on in an improvement project, and is often formalised through a data collection plan[1] which often contains the following activity.
- Pre collection activity — agree on goals, target data, definitions, methods
- Collection — data collections
- Present Findings — usually involves some form of sorting[2] analysis and/or presentation.
Prior to any data collection, pre-collection activity is one of the most crucial steps in the process. It is often discovered too late that the value of their interview information is discounted as a consequence of poor sampling of both questions and informants and poor elicitation techniques.[3] After pre-collection activity is fully completed, data collection in the field, whether by interviewing or other methods, can be carried out in a structured, systematic and scientific way.
A formal data collection process is necessary as it ensures that data gathered are both defined and accurate and that subsequent decisions based on arguments embodied in the findings are valid.[4] The process provides both a baseline from which to measure and in certain cases a target on what to improve.
Other main types of collection include census, sample survey, and administrative by-product and each with their respective advantages and disadvantages. A census refers to data collection about everyone or everything in a group or statistical population and has advantages, such as accuracy and detail and disadvantages, such as cost and time. A sampling is a data collection method that includes only part of the total population and has advantages, such as cost and time and disadvantages, such as accuracy and detail. Administrative by-product data are collected as a byproduct of an organization's day-to-day operations and has advantages, such as accuracy, time simplicity and disadvantages, such as no flexibility and lack of control.[5]
See also[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Data collection |
- Scientific data archiving
- Data management
- Experiment
- Observational study
- Sampling (statistics)
- Statistical survey
- Survey data collection
References[edit]
- ^ LeanYourCompany.com, Establishing a data collection plan
- ^ Sorting Data: collection and analysis By Anthony Peter Macmillan Coxon ISBN 0-8039-7237-7
- ^ Weller, S., Romney, A. (1988). Systematic Data Collection (Qualitative Research Methods Series 10). Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, ISBN 0-8039-3074-7
- ^ Data Collection and Analysis By Dr. Roger Sapsford, Victor Jupp ISBN 0-7619-5046-X
- ^ Weimer, J. (ed.) (1995). Research Techniques in Human Engineering. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall ISBN 0-13-097072-7
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
