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
University of Virginia Darden School Foundation
IBM & Darden Digital Strategy
Skills you'll gain: Strategic Thinking, Digital Transformation, Business Strategy, Cloud Computing Architecture, Competitive Analysis, Cloud Services, Large Language Modeling, Artificial Intelligence, Business Transformation, Cloud Security, Cloud Technologies, Cloud Infrastructure, Big Data, Cloud Platforms, Data Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Cloud Hosting, Generative AI, Product Lifecycle Management, Business Technologies
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
45K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
University of Colorado System
Algorithms, Data Collection, and Starting to Code
Skills you'll gain: Computational Thinking, Data Collection, Microsoft Visual Studio, Program Development, C (Programming Language), Programming Principles, Algorithms, Development Environment, Computer Programming, Data Structures, Debugging
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
376 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
University of Colorado System
Data Warehousing for Business Intelligence
Skills you'll gain: Database Design, Data Warehousing, Relational Databases, Decision Support Systems, Business Intelligence, Data Modeling, Database Management Systems, Databases, Dashboard, Business Process Management, SQL, Star Schema, Data Governance, Data Integration, Oracle Databases, Performance Measurement, Extract, Transform, Load, Business Analytics, MicroStrategy, Data Visualization Software
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.1K reviews
Advanced · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Google Cloud
Data Engineering, Big Data, and Machine Learning on GCP
Skills you'll gain: Data Pipelines, Dataflow, Google Cloud Platform, Real Time Data, Data Lakes, MLOps (Machine Learning Operations), Dashboard, Data Warehousing, Extract, Transform, Load, Cloud Engineering, Data Infrastructure, Cloud Infrastructure, Cloud Storage, Big Data, Tensorflow, Unstructured Data, Data Integration, Data Migration, Data Processing, Data Visualization Software
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
18K reviews
Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Packt
AWS Data Collection and Storage
Skills you'll gain: Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon S3, AWS Kinesis, Amazon CloudWatch, Cloud Storage, Data Pipelines, Data Management, AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), Data Storage, Real Time Data, Scalability, Encryption
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
University of Pennsylvania
Business Analytics
Skills you'll gain: People Analytics, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Human Capital, Business Analytics, Descriptive Analytics, Business Intelligence, Financial Data, Marketing Analytics, Analytics, Talent Management, Financial Analysis, Predictive Analytics, Human Resources Management and Planning, Peer Review, Business Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Financial Forecasting, Customer Insights, Workforce Planning, Demand Planning
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
18K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
IBM
IBM Generative AI Engineering
Skills you'll gain: Prompt Engineering, Large Language Modeling, Predictive Modeling, Unit Testing, Supervised Learning, Feature Engineering, Generative AI, Keras (Neural Network Library), Deep Learning, Exploratory Data Analysis, Artificial Intelligence, Data Wrangling, ChatGPT, Natural Language Processing, Data Analysis, Jupyter, Unsupervised Learning, PyTorch (Machine Learning Library), Generative AI Agents, Data Ethics
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
87K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
IBM
IBM AI Foundations for Business
Skills you'll gain: Large Language Modeling, Artificial Intelligence, Data Literacy, Data Mining, Generative AI, Data Ethics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Big Data, Information Architecture, Strategic Decision-Making, Enterprise Architecture, ChatGPT, Cloud Computing, Data Analysis, Data Science, Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Data Strategy, Business Strategy, Business Process Automation
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
94K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
University of California San Diego
Big Data
Skills you'll gain: Apache Spark, Apache Hadoop, Data Integration, Exploratory Data Analysis, Big Data, Graph Theory, Data Pipelines, Database Design, Data Modeling, Regression Analysis, Applied Machine Learning, Data Presentation, Scalability, Data Mining, Data Processing, Statistical Analysis, Data Management, NoSQL, Database Management Systems, Network Analysis
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
14K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
University of California, Davis
Data Visualization with Tableau
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Data Presentation, Data Visualization Software, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Data Visualization, Dashboard, Interactive Data Visualization, Data Mapping, Tableau Software, Proposal Development, Graphing, Histogram, Scatter Plots, Tree Maps, Exploratory Data Analysis, Statistical Visualization, Storytelling, Performance Metric, Geospatial Mapping, Heat Maps
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
8.2K reviews
Beginner · 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
University of Michigan
Python Data Structures
Skills you'll gain: Data Structures, Python Programming, Programming Principles, Data Import/Export, Data Manipulation, Development Environment, File Management
4.9
Rating, 4.9 out of 5 stars
97K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months