Collect and Communicate Data and Information: Methods and Tools

Basic Tools for Data Collection

There are many underlying reasons for collecting data, some of the most common ones are:

1. Integrity of The Research: A key reason for collecting data, be it through quantitative or qualitative methods is to ensure that the integrity of the research question is indeed maintained.
2. Reduce the likelihood of errors: The correct use of appropriate data collection of methods reduces the likelihood of errors consistent with the results. 
3. Decision Making: To minimize the risk of errors in decision making, it is important that accurate data is collected so that the researcher doesn’t make uninformed decisions. 
4. Save Cost and Time: Data collection saves the researcher time and funds that would otherwise be misspent without a deeper understanding of the topic or subject matter.

To support a need for a new idea, change and/or innovation: To prove the need for a change in the norm or the introduction of new information that will be widely accepted, it is important to collect data as evidence to support these claims.

Before collecting any data for any purpose, it is important to understand key characteristics of data collection: 

1^st party data: collected directly from source;

2^nd party data: someone else’s first party

3^rd party data: aggregated from various sources 

1st party data is highly valuable because of its quality. Because you collect it directly from the source, you know it’s accurate, and because it comes straight from your audience, you know it’s relevant to your purpose.

2nd party data has many of the positive attributes of first party data but gives you access to information and insights you couldn’t get from first party data alone. Because it comes directly from the company that collected it, you know it’s of high quality. The data is more precise than if you got data aggregated from a variety of sources.Because of the volume and reach of 3rd party data, you can use it to expand your audience and gain more profound insights into their behaviors and interests. Data from a third party is especially powerful when you combine it with your first party data.

Many different methodologies can be used for data collection and analysis. Most are based around a core

set of basic tools. These include: 

• Interviews,
• Focus group discussions, 
• Observation, 
• Photography, 
• Video,
• Surveys, questionnaires 
• Case studies. 

Data may also be generated through direct measurement, reviewing secondary data, and informal project/programme management processes.

Watch this video before you continue: “How to Collect Data”

Observation: At its most simple, observation involves ‘seeing’ things – such as objects, processes, relationships, events – and formally recording the information.

There are different types of observation. Structured or direct observation is a process in which observations are recorded against an agreed checklist. Expert observation is usually carried out by someone with specific expertise in an area of work, and involves the expert observing and recording information on a subject.

Observation may also be carried out as a participatory exercise. Where this is the case the intended beneficiaries of a project or programme are involved in planning an observation exercise, observing, and discussing findings

Surveys and questionnaires: These are designed to collect and record information from many people, groups or organisations in a consistent way. 

A questionnaire is a form containing questions. It may be a printed form or one designed to be filled in online. Questionnaires may be administered in many different ways.

A survey, by contrast, is normally a large, formal exercise. It typically consists of three different aspects: an approved sampling method designed to ensure the survey is representative of a wider population; a standard questionnaire that ensures information is collected and recorded consistently; and a set of analysis methods that allow results and findings to be generated.

Focus group discussions: Focus group discussions (FGDs) are facilitated discussions, held with a small group of people who have specialist knowledge or interest in a particular topic.

They are used to find out the perceptions and attitudes of a defined group of people. FGDs are typically carried out with around 6-12 people, and are based around a short list of guiding questions, designed to probe for in-depth information.

FGDs are often used to solicit the views of those who would not be willing or able to speak up at larger group meetings. They may also be used to access the views of minority or disadvantaged groups, such as women, children or people with disabilities.

Interviews: Interviews are probably the most common tool used in planning, monitoring and evaluation. They can be carried out with one person at a time (individual interviews) or groups of people. They can be administered formally or informally. They can be carried out face-to-face or through remote media such as telephone and Skype. 

Interviews can also be conducted through written questions via letters or email. Interviews may be structured, semi-structured or open-ended. Structured interviews are based around a core set of questions that are always asked in the same order. Semi-structured interviews also contain a core set of questions, but allow the interviewer to ask supplementary questions, or change the order in which questions are asked.

Photography and video: Photographs and videos show still or moving images. Photographs can be used on their own, but are more often accompanied by written captions, providing additional information. Videos are often accompanied by a commentary.

 The use of photography and video has become increasingly common within monitoring and evaluation over recent years. This is partly because of improvements in mobile phone technology, which has increasingly enabled people to produce cheap, high quality audio-visual products. 

Case studies and stories of change: A case study is not a data collection tool in itself. It is a descriptive piece of work that can provide in-depth information on a topic. It is often based on information acquired through one or more of the other tools described in this paper, such as interviews or observation.

Case studies are usually written, but can also be presented as photographs, films or videos. Case studies often focus on people (individuals, households, communities). But they can also focus on any other unit of analysis such as locations, organisations, policies or the environment.Stories of change are similar to case studies. However, they have a specific focus on change, and are only usually developed after a project or programme has started.

Communicating Data

The most common ways to visualize the story data is telling are through: Charts; Figures; Graphs; Infographics; Plots; BI tools; spreadsheets.

There are also more innovative and impactful ways of communicating data, which are more and more used. That is the case for Storytelling. 

Nevertheless, despite of the means through which we communicate data, it is key to put forward the following questions:

• What story do you want to tell from the data?
• Are you using the right data to tell that story?
• How should you visualize the data to best tell your story?
• To what audiences do you want to tell this story?

Watch this video before you continue: “Visualizing Data”

Communicating Data – Storytelling

Despite the surgence of solutions, such as BI tools, dashboards, and spreadsheets over the recent decades, many organisations still are unable to fully take advantage of the opportunities hidden in their data. 

BI tools, dashboards and spreadsheets have a number of limitations:

• Data wrangling and manual reporting is still prevalent. The need for human intervention slows data analytics and communications within organisations.
• These tools only present data as numbers and charts. They lack the vital component of narrative for effectively communicating information and insights.
• Current tools make scaling information requests impossible. Most marketing, sales, operations and analytics teams lack the resources and time to respond to all requests for reporting from every level of a company, including external stakeholders such as customers.

Put simply, data in dashboards and spreadsheets only tell you   what  is happening. But, they do not tell you   why.

So how can enterprises transform their data centre into a profit centre, where all stakeholders benefit from having access to relevant data, shared in a language and format that suits them?The answer is simple: adopt a data storytelling culture.

Data storytelling is a methodology for communicating information, tailored to a specific audience, with a compelling narrative. It is the last ten feet of your data analysis and arguably the most important aspect.

Evolutionarily, as Humans, we are naturally hard-wired to share stories as a means of sharing information. Theorists even suggest that storytelling was the primary launchpad for the transmission of knowledge across large groups of people, which formed cultures as we know them today and allowed evolutionary success across generations. Now, with the so much data available to us, only data storytelling can put a human perspective on the increasingly complex and rapidly changing world of the digital era.

Data storytelling merges three key fields of expertise:

Data Science

• This field of expertise is the interdisciplinary field of sciences, which extracts knowledge and insight from data, making it readily available. This exciting field has made significant changes to our daily lives in the past couple of decades.
• The technologies we take for granted are all driven by this field of expertise, but there is one thing that data scientists are not naturally skilled in: Storytelling.
• Data scientists are often skilled at, collecting and delivering data, but lack the skills to relay a true understanding of the opportunities hidden in the data delivered.

Visualisations

• The emergence of technology solutions such as dashboards became a natural solution in aiding us to comprehend our vast amounts of data collected. 
• Transforming data into graphs, pie, and line charts meant we could see our data like never before, however, alone data visualisations have limitations. They provided at-a-glance snapshots of data, lacking the context needed to explain why something has happened.

Narrative

The third and, somewhat, most vital part of a data story is the narrative. Narrative uses language in a format that suits our particular needs, augmenting our full comprehension of new information. A narrative is a key vehicle to convey insights, with visualisations and data being important proof points.

What makes up a good data story?

• A good data story leverages three major components: Data, narrative, and visuals.
• The data component is simple, we must have the accurate data, to reach correct insights. The visual component enables us to spot trends and patterns in datasets, which are not easily seen in the rows and columns of spreadsheets.
• The narrative components which concern the simple language used to describe the data can be seen as giving a voice to the data. Each data point is a character in a story – a protagonist – with its own story to tell. Combined together, narrative, data, and visuals can create data stories which drive change in businesses.
• Here is one example of how Spotify, has utilizes the power of data storytelling to communicate with their customers.
• In recent years, Spotify has sent annual recap stories to their customers in the format of an email. These short stories pull interesting statistics for each user such as the number of minutes they’ve listened to music on their app. This is an engaging way of communicating the value of their service instead of simply sending them an invoice or simple thanks for using us.

Source: https://www.nugit.co/what-is-data-storytelling/

Why is data storytelling powerful?

• Historically, cultures and societies have told stories; from cave paintings to novels to movies; stories have been the primal form for the transmission of meaningful information.
• The earliest known forms of storytelling are cave paintings, of which, the oldest discovered in 1940, were dated back to between c. 17,000 – c. 15,000 BCE.
• Although oral storytelling appears to be an immediate by-product from the evolution of language, writing appears to have originated in ancient Mesopotamia around 3,400 BCE. The Sumerian civilisation made markings on clay tablets, which were used to keep economic and administrative records. As the civilisation developed, Sumerian scribes were also writing and recording more of their teachings.
• Two Sumerian texts, the ‘Kesh Temple Hymn’ and the ‘Instructions of Shuruppak’ are believed to be the  oldest literature in the world. The oldest fictional story, again written by the Sumerians, is believed to be ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ which was written around 2,000 BCE  and depicts the stories of King Gilgamesh who ruled around the same time.
• Fast forward to the 19th and 20th centuries where rapid developments in technology were seen. The channels in which we told and shared stories evolved. Inventions such as printing, the radio, and television have impacted human life and storytelling dramatically; we are continually presented with more channels for people to tell stories through and influence others.

• Historically, cultures and societies have told stories; from cave paintings to novels to movies; stories have been the primal form for the transmission of meaningful information.
  
• Although oral storytelling appears to be an immediate by-product from the evolution of language, writing appears to have originated in ancient Mesopotamia around 3,400 BCE. The Sumerian civilisation made markings on clay tablets, which were used to keep economic and administrative records. As the civilisation developed, Sumerian scribes were also writing and recording more of their teachings.
• Fast forward to the 19th and 20th centuries where rapid developments in technology were seen. The channels in which we told and shared stories evolved. Inventions such as printing, the radio, and television have impacted human life and storytelling dramatically; we are continually presented with more channels for people to tell stories through and influence others.
• As humans, we are by nature, social creatures and we have evolved distinctively compared to other species as a function of our increasingly social world. Stories have the power to help us understand meaningful information and, as a consequence, can shape our values, determine our prejudices, and influence our dreams.

Watch this video before you continue: “The Power in Effective Data Storytelling”