Five Data Collection Techniques to Find Out Exactly What You Want to Know

To make informed decisions regarding their market, clients, and employees, organizations often look for ways to collect information about their people. This could include learning about their experiences, motivators, or needs, just to name a few. The best data collection technique depends on the complexity and depth of information you want to collect and the number of perspectives you need to gather. Here I describe five data collection techniques you can use to find out what you want to know, along with their best uses, their advantages, their drawbacks, and an example of each.

The best data collection technique depends on the complexity and depth of information you want to collect and the number of perspectives you need to gather.

Interviews. Interviews are typically best for complex topics where there is a need for great depth and range in the information to be collected, which their one-on-one format allows. Although interview questions should be asked consistently across participants, they do allow for some flexibility as interviewers identify areas that need to be explored further. Importantly, interviews also help to create relationships and trust between the interviewer and participant which can also be quite beneficial for increasing stakeholder buy-in to the process and findings. Some draw backs to interviews include that they can take considerable time to conduct and analyze compared to other data collection techniques and inadequately trained interviewers can cause a bias in participant responses. 

Example. One-on-one exit interview with a top-talent employee to find out why she is leaving and what she finds more attractive at the new organization.

Focus groups. Focus groups work best when you need to learn about a specific topic from a group of people who share one or a few similarities. This data collection technique can be beneficial as skilled facilitators can collect the reliability of impressions by asking follow-up questions about whether other members also felt or thought the same thing. One drawback to focus groups is that they can be more difficult to schedule as they require finding a day and time that works for multiple people. Additionally, if facilitators are not properly trained, focus groups may result in one person dominating the conversation while other perspectives go unshared and unheard.

Example. A group of customers is brought together to engage in a guided conversation about a new product and share what they liked most and least about their experience with it.

Observations. Observations are best used when behavior needs to be understood in a naturalistic setting. By remaining relatively unobtrusive the observer can study the dynamics of a situation and gather data on specific behaviors or interactions. However, it can be difficult to interpret and categorize complex behaviors, so this technique is best used when those behaviors are relatively simple. Additionally, several trained observers are typically needed to ensure the reliability of the information collected and the presence of observers may alter the participants’ behavior. 

Example. An employer conducts a time-motion study to determine how long particular tasks take in order to improve a department’s current work processes.

Case Studies. Case studies are up-close and in-depth detailed examinations of a subject of study. It depicts their experiences and behavior by following subjects over time and in various contexts and environments. This collection method is best used when rare phenomena need to be studied such that participants can be chosen for specific characteristics or qualities. However, because data is collected from only one or a few subjects, it is difficult to draw confident cause and effect conclusions and doesn’t allow results to be generalized to others.

Example. An external consulting firm partners with an organization who is considered a leader in the space of performance management to understand their success and existing barriers.

Surveys. Surveys are typically organizations’ go-to for collecting people related data. This makes sense because they allow for the collection of information from many people at one time and can be collected relatively easily, especially through online platforms. Additionally, the quantitative data that comes out of surveys is relatively easy to compare and analyze, compared to some other data collection techniques. They also allow for greater feelings of anonymity among participants which can increase honesty, especially when asking about sensitive subjects. Surveys are less useful when you want to understand complex and in-depth subjects that require a great deal of explanation and clarification. They also cannot typically be adjusted in real time as data collectors see gaps and shortcomings.

Example. An employer conducts an annual employee survey to understand what employees are most and least satisfied with in the organization and which factors are the greatest drivers of engagement.

Selecting a Technique. When selecting a data collection technique, you should consider the complexity and depth of the information you want to collect about your market, clients, or employees and the amount of time (and budget) available to collect and analyze the data. Also consider the number of perspectives you feel you need to gather; is it just from a few people or from many? The figure below shows how each of the data collection techniques vary according the complexity and depth of the information you need to collect and the size of the sample. 

No matter what technique you choose, always make sure you…

• Have a specific question or set of questions you are trying to answer, otherwise, designing the data collection can be difficult and get off course. Work with your stakeholder to identify these questions and take the time to write them down, being as specific as possible. These questions will guide you all the way through to the delivery of your insights.

• Have a plan for the analyses you will need to run before you collect. Often times organizations collect data without an idea of how it should be analyzed. This happens especially often with open-ended survey responses when there is no plan for theming and drawing insights.

• Do something with the data! Too often data is collected in organizations and not used. This is a poor use of time for both the collector and participants and can discourage people from helping in the future.

If you need support related to any of these data collection techniques or your other organization efforts, feel free to reach out!