What is data collection?

Data collection is the systematic process of gathering information like observations or measurements while doing research. When you’re performing research, you’re likely looking for answers to a question you have. When it comes to data collection, digging beyond the surface tells an intriguing story. Collecting data about what you’re researching can help you gain more insight into the details and information that’ll help you answer that question. Although it’s particularly useful in science-related applications, the beauty of data collection is that you can use it to discover answers to almost any query you dream up.

Why learn data collection?

Data are important for helping you (and others, and even computers) make all sorts of different decisions. It helps scientists learn whether their studies are working and assists marketers in sending the right messages to the right people. It's what lets us know if something new we tried is really working. As information becomes digitized, it becomes data that we can use in a variety of ways to accomplish whatever we’ve set out to do. But in order to do that, we need to gather the data first. Without data collection to compile that information, we can’t be truly efficient in analyzing those details — what if something is missing? If you’re aiming to understand how research is conducted and decisions are made, it’s essential to learn about data collection’s role.

What career opportunities can arise from learning data collection?

Almost every career that involves data provides opportunities for collecting those data, even if the primary focus isn’t only collecting data. A multitude of different analyst roles require plenty of time spent gathering data, whether you choose to work in fields like marketing, human resources or business or you’re specifically interested in working as a data scientist — someone who directs their efforts toward compiling data and translating it into information that others can use to make decisions. Even working as an actuary — a professional who assesses risks, often in insurance fields — allows you to focus much of your time on dealing with data. But these careers are just the beginning; dozens more give you the opportunity to collect data, so it’s an important skill to have and concept to understand even if it’s not the primary focus of your work.

How can taking online courses on Coursera help me learn data collection?

If you’re looking to boost your data literacy, taking our online classes provides a worthwhile opportunity to pursue your goals whenever it’s most convenient for you. Online courses give you the time and space you need to complete coursework from home while also providing you access to learning materials created by accomplished instructors and other field experts. You’ll enjoy learning the basic frameworks of data collection and analysis as you’re getting started learning about this topic by discovering the role of research, analysis and collection techniques. As you advance, you might choose to study more complex topics like utilizing the Python programming language to create programs that fetch and analyze data. And with a variety of learning programs, from certificates to specializations to course credits for college degrees, you can formalize your data analysis accomplishments as you continue to build skills.

Top Data Collection Courses - Learn Data Collection Online

Explore the Data Collection Course Catalog

Status: Free Trial
Google
The Power of Statistics
Skills you'll gain: Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Sampling (Statistics), Descriptive Statistics, Data Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Probability Distribution, Statistical Methods, Advanced Analytics, Analytics, Statistics, Data Literacy, Statistical Inference, Probability, Statistical Software, Statistical Programming, A/B Testing, Sample Size Determination, Jupyter, Technical Communication
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
787 reviews
Advanced · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
IBM
Python Project for Data Science
Skills you'll gain: Dashboard, Pandas (Python Package), Data Visualization Software, Web Scraping, Jupyter, Matplotlib, Data Analysis, Data Science, Data Processing, Data Manipulation, Python Programming, Data Collection
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.6K reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
IBM
IBM Data Management
Skills you'll gain: Dashboard, Data Storytelling, Data Warehousing, SQL, Data Governance, Data Security, Data Migration, Database Design, Data Literacy, Descriptive Statistics, Extract, Transform, Load, Data Mining, Cloud Storage, Data Visualization Software, Data Store, IBM DB2, Data Management, Relational Databases, MySQL, Excel Formulas
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
17K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Google
Data Analysis with R Programming
Skills you'll gain: Rmarkdown, Ggplot2, R Programming, Data Analysis, Tidyverse (R Package), Statistical Programming, Data Visualization Software, Data Cleansing, Data Manipulation, Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Import/Export, Package and Software Management, Data Structures
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
11K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
Google
Foundations of Data Science
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Data Ethics, Data Analysis, Workflow Management, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Analytical Skills, Data Science, Project Design, Communication, Business, Business Workflow Analysis, Stakeholder Communications, Machine Learning
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
3.2K reviews
Advanced · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
Johns Hopkins University
Genomic Data Science
Skills you'll gain: Bioinformatics, Unix Commands, Biostatistics, Exploratory Data Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Unix, Data Science, Data Management, Statistical Methods, Molecular Biology, Command-Line Interface, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Linux Commands, Data Analysis Software, Statistical Modeling, Data Structures, Data Analysis, R Programming, Computational Thinking, Jupyter
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
6.6K reviews
Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Meta
Introduction to Data Management
Skills you'll gain: Data Management, Data Collection, Data Governance, Data Analysis, Information Privacy, Data Quality, Data Storage, Data Security, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Data Architecture, Data Visualization Software, Big Data, Machine Learning
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
93 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
IBM
Introduction to Data Science
Skills you'll gain: SQL, Jupyter, Data Literacy, Data Mining, Peer Review, Data Modeling, Relational Databases, Stored Procedure, Databases, Data Science, Big Data, Computer Programming Tools, Query Languages, Data Cleansing, GitHub, Business Analysis, Cloud Computing, Data Analysis, Digital Transformation, R Programming
Build toward a degree
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
99K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
University of California San Diego
Data Structures and Algorithms
Skills you'll gain: Data Structures, Graph Theory, Algorithms, Network Routing, Program Development, Debugging, Network Model, Bioinformatics, Operations Research, Data Storage, Development Testing, Test Engineering, Software Testing, Theoretical Computer Science, Computational Thinking, Network Analysis, Test Case, Programming Principles, Computer Programming, Epidemiology
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
17K reviews
Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Johns Hopkins University
Data Science
Skills you'll gain: Shiny (R Package), Rmarkdown, Exploratory Data Analysis, Regression Analysis, Leaflet (Software), Version Control, Statistical Analysis, R Programming, Data Manipulation, Data Cleansing, Data Science, Statistical Inference, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Predictive Modeling, Data Wrangling, Data Visualization, Plotly, Machine Learning Algorithms, Plot (Graphics), Knitr
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
51K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Multiple educators
Data Science Foundations
Skills you'll gain: Dashboard, Pseudocode, Jupyter, Algorithms, Data Literacy, Data Mining, Pandas (Python Package), Data Visualization Software, Correlation Analysis, Web Scraping, NumPy, Probability & Statistics, Predictive Modeling, Big Data, Computer Programming Tools, Automation, Data Collection, Data Science, Machine Learning Algorithms, Unsupervised Learning
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
113K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
IBM
Introduction to Data Engineering
Skills you'll gain: Data Store, Extract, Transform, Load, Data Architecture, Data Pipelines, Big Data, Data Warehousing, Data Governance, Apache Hadoop, Relational Databases, Apache Spark, Data Lakes, Databases, SQL, NoSQL, Data Security
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
3.2K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks