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
Multiple educators
Object Oriented Programming in Java
Skills you'll gain: Unit Testing, Data Structures, Event-Driven Programming, Interactive Data Visualization, Java, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Development Testing, User Interface (UI), Debugging, Java Programming, Software Testing, Computer Programming, Software Engineering, Algorithms, Performance Tuning, Encryption, Programming Principles, Data Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Software Design
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
15K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Rice University
Business Statistics and Analysis
Skills you'll gain: Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Microsoft Excel, Pivot Tables And Charts, Regression Analysis, Descriptive Statistics, Probability & Statistics, Graphing, Spreadsheet Software, Probability Distribution, Business Analytics, Statistical Analysis, Statistical Modeling, Excel Formulas, Data Analysis, Data Presentation, Statistics, Business Analysis, Statistical Methods, Sample Size Determination, Statistical Inference
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
13K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Google
Capstone: Applying Project Management in the Real World
Skills you'll gain: Project Management, Milestones (Project Management), Project Management Life Cycle, Project Closure, Data Storytelling, Report Writing, Requirements Analysis, Project Risk Management, Project Scoping, Timelines, Stakeholder Management, Project Planning, Project Documentation, Presentations, Stakeholder Communications, Quality Management, Goal Setting, Interviewing Skills, Generative AI Agents, Communication Strategies
4.9
Rating, 4.9 out of 5 stars
12K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
Duke University
Python, Bash and SQL Essentials for Data Engineering
Skills you'll gain: Pandas (Python Package), Bash (Scripting Language), Version Control, Jupyter, Linux Commands, Git (Version Control System), Shell Script, Linux, Web Scraping, Linux Administration, Data Manipulation, MySQL, Microservices, AWS SageMaker, SQL, JSON, Scripting, Cloud Engineering, Command-Line Interface, Development Environment
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
430 reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Vanderbilt University
MATLAB Programming for Engineers and Scientists
Skills you'll gain: Data Visualization, Image Analysis, Data Visualization Software, Matlab, Algorithms, Machine Learning Methods, User Interface (UI), Applied Machine Learning, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Statistical Methods, Mathematical Software, Engineering Calculations, Data Analysis, Data Processing, Engineering Analysis, Computer Programming, Programming Principles, UI Components, Software Design, Debugging
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
18K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
University of Washington
Social Media Data Analytics
Skills you'll gain: R Programming, Text Mining, Statistical Analysis, Correlation Analysis, Web Scraping, Regression Analysis, Analytics, Big Data, Data Analysis, Data Mining, Unstructured Data, Data Collection, Scripting, Application Programming Interface (API), Python Programming
4.1
Rating, 4.1 out of 5 stars
296 reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
IBM
Data Visualization with R
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Interactive Data Visualization, Data Visualization Software, Dashboard, Ggplot2, Plot (Graphics), Shiny (R Package), R Programming, Leaflet (Software), Graphing, Scatter Plots, Box Plots, Spatial Data Analysis, Histogram, UI Components, User Interface (UI)
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
260 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
University of Michigan
Capstone: Retrieving, Processing, and Visualizing Data with Python
Skills you'll gain: Data Processing, Data Collection, Data Visualization Software, Data Manipulation, Python Programming, Exploratory Data Analysis, Algorithms, Data Analysis, Web Scraping, Unstructured Data
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
14K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Coursera Project Network
COVID19 Data Analysis Using Python
Skills you'll gain: Correlation Analysis, Seaborn, Data Cleansing, Data Visualization, Statistical Analysis, Data Manipulation, Data Analysis, Exploratory Data Analysis, Pandas (Python Package), Data Integration, Infectious Diseases
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
2K reviews
Intermediate · Guided Project · Less Than 2 Hours
Status: Free Trial
University of California, Santa Cruz
Coding for Everyone: C and C++
Skills you'll gain: C++ (Programming Language), Debugging, C (Programming Language), Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Software Design Patterns, Code Review, Data Structures, Computer Programming, Algorithms, Command-Line Interface, Programming Principles, Program Development, Computer Science, Computational Thinking, Integrated Development Environments, Graph Theory, Artificial Intelligence, Software Technical Review, File Systems, Game Design
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
9.4K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
University of California, Santa Cruz
C, Go, and C++: A Comprehensive Introduction to Programming
Skills you'll gain: C++ (Programming Language), Go (Programming Language), Debugging, C (Programming Language), Data Structures, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Software Design Patterns, Object Oriented Design, Code Review, Programming Principles, Computer Programming, Unit Testing, Algorithms, Command-Line Interface, Program Development, Integrated Development Environments, Software Testing, Computer Science, Computational Thinking, Graph Theory
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
9.4K reviews
Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Amazon Web Services
AWS Cloud Solutions Architect
Skills you'll gain: AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), Amazon CloudWatch, Data Lakes, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon Web Services, Serverless Computing, Cloud Computing, Amazon S3, Scalability, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud, Event-Driven Programming, Cloud Security, Solution Architecture, Data Visualization, Cloud Computing Architecture, Cloud Storage, Data Architecture, API Gateway, Data Infrastructure, AWS CloudFormation
Build toward a degree
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
6.7K reviews
Intermediate · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months