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
IBM
Data Visualization with Python
Skills you'll gain: Data Visualization Software, Plotly, Data Visualization, Dashboard, Interactive Data Visualization, Matplotlib, Seaborn, Data Presentation, Data Analysis, Geospatial Information and Technology, Pandas (Python Package), Scatter Plots, Histogram, Heat Maps, Box Plots
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
12K reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
Status: AI skills
Meta
Meta Data Analyst
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Business Metrics, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Data Management, Data Collection, Data Governance, Bayesian Statistics, Data Analysis, Descriptive Statistics, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Information Privacy, Data Cleansing, Pandas (Python Package), Data Visualization Software, Statistical Inference, Spreadsheet Software, Correlation Analysis, Google Sheets, Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Modeling
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
1.4K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Macquarie University
Excel Skills for Data Analytics and Visualization
Skills you'll gain: Pivot Tables And Charts, Data Storytelling, Power BI, Excel Formulas, Data Analysis Expressions (DAX), Data Visualization Software, Interactive Data Visualization, Microsoft Excel, Spreadsheet Software, Dashboard, Data Modeling, Data Cleansing, Data Manipulation, Excel Macros, Infographics, Data Transformation, Data Analysis Software, Data Validation, Data Analysis, Microsoft Power Platform
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
5.7K reviews
Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
University of California San Diego
Data Structures
Skills you'll gain: Data Structures, Algorithms, Data Storage, Programming Principles, Computer Programming, C++ (Programming Language), Theoretical Computer Science, File Management
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
5.5K reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
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
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
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, Predictive Modeling, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, 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
Google
Data Analysis with R Programming
Skills you'll gain: Rmarkdown, Ggplot2, R Programming, Data Visualization, Data Analysis, Tidyverse (R Package), Data Visualization Software, Statistical Programming, Data Cleansing, Data Manipulation, Programming Principles, Data Transformation, Integrated Development Environments, Data Structures
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
11K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
Meta
Meta Database Engineer
Skills you'll gain: MySQL, Database Design, Version Control, Database Management Systems, Database Management, MySQL Workbench, Extract, Transform, Load, Data Modeling, Data Structures, SQL, Unix Commands, Relational Databases, Databases, Git (Version Control System), Database Systems, Stored Procedure, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Unit Testing, Algorithms, Django (Web Framework)
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
7.1K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Johns Hopkins University
A Crash Course in Data Science
Skills you'll gain: Data Science, Data Management, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Project Design, Performance Metric, Software Engineering, Machine Learning, Predictive Modeling, Statistical Inference
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
8.3K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
Google
Share Data Through the Art of Visualization
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Data Literacy, Data Visualization, Data Presentation, Interactive Data Visualization, Tableau Software, Presentations, Data Visualization Software, Dashboard, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
9.6K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks