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 California, Davis
Fundamentals of Visualization with Tableau
Skills you'll gain: Data Visualization Software, Data Visualization, Interactive Data Visualization, Dashboard, Tableau Software, Data Presentation, Tree Maps, Data Analysis, Data Import/Export
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
6.7K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
Duke University
Introductory C Programming
Skills you'll gain: Debugging, Maintainability, Programming Principles, Algorithms, Software Testing, Program Development, C (Programming Language), Pseudocode, Computational Thinking, Software Engineering, Simulations, Test Case, System Programming, Data Structures, Software Development, Computer Programming, Command-Line Interface, Operating Systems, Development Environment, User Interface (UI)
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
7.3K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Google Cloud
Preparing for Google Cloud Certification: Machine Learning Engineer
Skills you'll gain: Feature Engineering, MLOps (Machine Learning Operations), Prompt Engineering, Google Cloud Platform, Generative AI, Tensorflow, Keras (Neural Network Library), Apache Airflow, Cloud Infrastructure, CI/CD, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Data Pipelines, Dataflow, Systems Design, Cloud Platforms, Data Management, Data Governance, Hybrid Cloud Computing, Workflow Management, Application Deployment
4.4
Rating, 4.4 out of 5 stars
4.9K reviews
Intermediate · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Marketing in a Digital World
Skills you'll gain: Digital Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Strategies, MarTech, Digital Advertising, Digital Transformation, E-Commerce, Price Negotiation, Consumer Behaviour, Product Development, Product Promotion, Innovation, Customer Engagement
Build toward a degree
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
17K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
Meta
Advanced Data Modeling
Skills you'll gain: MySQL Workbench, Extract, Transform, Load, Data Modeling, Database Design, MySQL, Data Warehousing, Database Management, Databases, Relational Databases, Database Architecture and Administration, Advanced Analytics, Data Analysis, Data Visualization Software
4.3
Rating, 4.3 out of 5 stars
102 reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: New
Packt
Time Series Forecasting with Facebook Prophet in Python
Skills you'll gain: Time Series Analysis and Forecasting, Forecasting, Predictive Modeling, Data Manipulation, Anomaly Detection, Pandas (Python Package), Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Cleansing
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: New
Packt
Microsoft Power BI - The Complete Masterclass [2023 EDITION]
Skills you'll gain: Data Analysis Expressions (DAX), Power BI, Data Transformation, Data Modeling, Data Visualization Software, Interactive Data Visualization, Statistical Visualization, Data Storytelling, Data Integration, Dashboard, Data Manipulation, Microsoft Excel, Data Import/Export, Pivot Tables And Charts, Business Intelligence, Data Cleansing, Data Security
Intermediate · Course · 3 - 6 Months
Status: New
Whizlabs
Getting Started with Microsoft Fabric
Skills you'll gain: Power BI, Data Analysis Expressions (DAX), Data Pipelines, Data Transformation, Data Analysis, Microsoft Azure, Analytics, Data Warehousing, Data Integration, Data Processing, Data Cleansing, Data Modeling, Dashboard, Data Governance
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Coursera Project Network
Exploratory Data Analysis With Python and Pandas
Skills you'll gain: Exploratory Data Analysis, Correlation Analysis, Matplotlib, Seaborn, Data Cleansing, Data Visualization, Pandas (Python Package), Data Analysis, Data Manipulation, NumPy, Statistical Analysis
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
437 reviews
Beginner · Guided Project · Less Than 2 Hours
Universidad Austral
Excel aplicado a los negocios (Nivel Avanzado)
Skills you'll gain: Excel Macros, Microsoft Excel, Excel Formulas, Data Import/Export, Data Validation, Business Analysis, Business Analytics, Process Optimization, Data Analysis Software, Microsoft Access, Business Modeling, Data Integration, Visual Basic (Programming Language), Automation
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
3K reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: New
Packt
MongoDB Tutorial for Beginners (2024)
Skills you'll gain: MongoDB, NoSQL, MySQL, Database Development, SQL, Software Installation, Database Management, Databases, Database Design, Relational Databases, Data Management, Data Structures
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: New
Coursera Instructor Network
Microsoft Copilot for Power BI: AI-Powered Report Insights
Skills you'll gain: Data Analysis Expressions (DAX), Power BI, Dashboard, Data Modeling, Business Intelligence, Microsoft Excel, Data Visualization Software, Microsoft Copilot, Data Integration, Interactive Data Visualization, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Data Manipulation, Data Transformation, Data Cleansing, ChatGPT
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks