Collecting Data

Purpose of a research

To define what you want to learn or find out, helping to focus the analysis and decide what data to collect. 

Data

raw and uninterpreted

Information

produced when data is manipulated into meaningful and useful form. 

Quantitative data

 Data that has been collected that is specific and measurable.  

Advantages of Quantitative data

Easier to graph

Disadvantages of Quantitative data

Data found can be superficial

Qualitative data

Data that is harder to graph as it is based on subjective data collection techniques SIO survey, interview, observation 

Advantages of Qualitative data

Exploring personal experiences

Disadvantages of Qualitative data

Difficult to graph

Primary data

Firsthand account of a person, object, event or phenomenon. 

Primary data techniques

Survey, interview, observation, focus group 

Advantages of Primary data

Often current and up-to-date. Primary data collection methods are highly flexible. 

Disadvantages of Primary data

Lengthy Data Collection Process. Risk of errors in data collection

Secondary Data

Information that has been processed, interpreted or analysed in some way  

Examples of Secondary data

Websites, newspaper, magazine

Advantages of Secondary data

Time saving, expert - reviewed data

Disadvantages of Secondary data

Data could be out dated, data could reflect biased opinion

Survey

A set of questions that ask for a response to be selected from a list of alternatives. e.g mail surveys, telephone surveys

Interview

asking people questions to get information or opinions. e.g in-person interviews, online interviews

Observation

Picking up detailed information about the world around us e.g people watching

ABS

The Australian Bureau of Statistics. 

Census

Serves as a foundational resource for demographic and statistical analysis. 

What kinds of data are collected by the ABS every 5 years? 

The ABS counts every person and household in Australia, called the Census of population and housing. Census data tells us about the economic, social and cultural make-up of the country.

How AI is used to generate data

Synthetic data (information that's artificially manufactured rather than generated by real-world events.) is generated by AI trained on real world data samples.