Here are some of our favourite smart habits for collecting clean, clear and useful data for your project. Data collection might not be the most thrilling part of your project, but if you can get this right from the very start, your journey will become a lot smoother. Whether you’re researching your demographics, building your business or making sense of a spreadsheet, setting your data up correctly can save you a lot of energy down the line. Here are a few practical tips to get started:
Just Get It Down
Pick your data collection system and stick to it – keep it consistent and store your data securely in the same place. Even if you choose to note it down with a pen and paper – especially useful if you’re out in the field – as long as you’ve collected everything you need to know, it’s a great start.
Pick Your Digital Forum
Once you’ve got that data down, whether it’s on a scrap of paper, a Word document or in your phone, you’ll want to get it entered properly into a spreadsheet ASAP. This way you’re not at risk of losing that valuable information – you can back it up and start analysing it straight away. Working with a data collection company, such as https://shepper.com, can help you manage, collect and store data safely.
Keep It Together
Stick to a single spreadsheet to keep all your data together. This will help you to search it, sort it and analyse it for trends and patterns very quickly.
Add a Unique ID Column
Give each row of your data spreadsheet a unique identifying number. When you’ve only a little data, this might seem a bit over-the-top, but as your dataset grows, it’ll be very helpful when you come to cross-reference your data.
One Variable and One Column
Don’t squish different data variables together. It might be tempting to save time, but it might make your data trickier to untangle later on. Each variable should be separate, and you’ll thank yourself for this down the line!