Introduction to Data Collection Tools
Data collection tools can be defined as the application softwares used for assembling data and information from various data sources, under a common ground, to weigh in with specific constraint set for future analytical purposes. These tools help get a better understanding of the gathered data, which can be further used for meaningful business-related decision-making processes. The resulting analytical reports and information can be used to create a bigger impact in terms of the business operations and to suit the futuristic views of the organization, from the application systems and the related activities.
Data Collection Tools
There are a variety of Data Collection Tools available in the market, and the businesses choose the appropriate tool to go with their business needs. Below are some of the data collection techniques used by the Data Collection Tools,
- Case Studies
- Usage Data
- Checklists
- Interviews
- Focus Groups
- Surveys
These techniques are the working principles for the Data Collection Tools, and not all the tools are capable of functioning on all these techniques. The following are the tool descriptions, along with their technical capability.
1. Encyclopedia
The encyclopedia is a web-based application that can hold a massive group of data, which can fall under multiple categories depending on the organization’s needs. This tool is explicitly used for implementing case studies based on data collection techniques.
2. Grammarly
Grammarly is the Data Collection tool aids in creating case studies, just like Encyclopedia, where the user can validate their texts’ spelling errors and grammar corrections. The input text is typically validated against the already stored data and information from the database systems. A range of logic is implemented into the databases to achieve a successful grammar check for the incoming texts. This tool comes for free of access and in a paid version as well.
3. Zonka Feedback
Zonka Feedback is a top data collection tool for businesses, offering a multi-channel feedback system for real-time user insights. It eliminates the need for paper forms by allowing you to collect and organize data online. With its user-friendly interface, advanced reporting, and collaborative inbox, Zonka Feedback simplifies the process of gathering and analyzing feedback through various types of surveys. It specializes in mobile data collection and offers integration options, customizable forms, and offline data collection, making it a comprehensive solution for businesses focused on data-driven decision-making.
4. Quetext
Quetext is a tool that falls under data collection category, as it is used for verifying if the input data is a plagiarized content or not. Plagiarism is nothing but the act of copying the contents owned by a different person and using it for their own needs, and it is normally seen as an illegal activity. This tool is available for free for anyone to use.
5. Suma
Suma is another free tool, known for its mobility as an advantageous characteristic and used as an estimation tool for the data. Ideally, it is used assembling, combining, and examining the data for further processing. It also supports multiple accessions of data at the same time by multiple users, for analytical reasons.
6. Canva.com
Canva.com is another web tool or web-based application system that is used for creating and maintaining the checklists, which is another type of data collection technique. Checklists can be defined as a list of items, and these items can be later used as a standard for database analysis. This tool consents to the user to implement their imagination concerning the customization of the user interface.
7. Checklist
This data collection tool also uses a checklist technique, and it comes with the inbuilt design patterns for the checklists that the user can create and manage with this tool. This comes in both a free version and paid version, where the paid version has additional benefits than the free versions like schedule creation and tracking alongside the checklists.
8. Forgett
Forgett is an effortless, straightforward, checklist tool, which provided more user-friendly options like index options, highlighting tools, editing options, action menu items, sharing mediums, etc. Like other tools, this data collection tool also comes as free and as a paid tool as well.
9. Sony ICD ux560
Sony ICD ux560 can be defined as an audio tracking and storing application, which has the default format for data is LPCM. This uses the Interview type of data collection technique, and here Interview can be defined as the activity executed by individuals or by a group to gather information on each other. This information is then congregated into a single data source, and retrieved whenever required.
10. Learning Space Toolkit
Learning Space Toolkit is also a web-based tool that will inform the user to list the essential articles required for the focus group to concentrate on. Focus Group here is a data collection technique, as the name says, used for keeping records on a specific group of users along with their common interests or subject matter in discussion at the moment.
11. Google Forms
Google Forms is a data collection tool that works on the technique of Surveys, where the organizations/ individual users can generate, update, maintain, and conclude surveys as & when required. Surveys can be defined as an activity conducted amongst a group of people, being presented with a collective questionnaire on a particular subject. This is a google product, and so it is made available free of cost for the personals with google account. This tool also provides various options for handling the user interface as desired, in terms of appearance. Like any other google product, this product also lets the users share and collaborate the contents with the required contacts.
12. Zoho Survey
Similar to google surveys, Zoho Survey also works based on the survey type of data collection technique, and the functions are available on the web as well. This product is also accessible anywhere anytime for free, with the help of the cloud feature.
Other than these Data Collection Tools discussed above, there are few other techniques for performing the Data Collection and they are observation, documentation, and recording. The documentation technique incorporates the process of examining the active information from the database systems or the related reports. This is the most commonly used technique, though it cannot be used as an absolute data source for data processing. Another technique, the Observation data collection is an activity carried out for viewing or staging the information that falls under a common theme.
Conclusion
Data collection is where a huge amount of data is collectively placed, picked, and worked upon, for the sole purpose of future analysis. The Data Collection sets can be categorized based on their characteristics with respect quantitative and qualitative nature of the information present in the database systems or the data sources.
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