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.

Best Data Collection Courses & Certificates [2025]

Explore the Data Collection Course Catalog

Status: New AI skills
Google
Google Data Analytics
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Data Visualization, Data Presentation, Data Ethics, Rmarkdown, Interactive Data Visualization, Data Cleansing, Interviewing Skills, Data Validation, Ggplot2, Tableau Software, Presentations, Spreadsheet Software, Data Analysis, Data Visualization Software, Stakeholder Communications, Dashboard, Sampling (Statistics), Analytics, Stakeholder Management
Build toward a degree
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
166K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
University of Michigan
Survey Data Collection and Analytics
Skills you'll gain: Sampling (Statistics), Sample Size Determination, Survey Creation, Data Collection, Statistical Analysis, Data Analysis Software, Business Research, Interviewing Skills, Data Integration, Data Ethics, Research Design, Stata, R Programming, Data Quality, Data Analysis, Statistical Modeling, Qualitative Research, Statistical Methods, Statistical Programming, Data Cleansing
4.4
Rating, 4.4 out of 5 stars
1.4K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
University of Michigan
Data Collection and Processing with Python
Skills you'll gain: JSON, Data Processing, Restful API, Data Manipulation, Application Programming Interface (API), Python Programming, Data Transformation, Data Structures, Data Collection
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
4K reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
University of Maryland, College Park
Framework for Data Collection and Analysis
Skills you'll gain: Data Collection, Business Research, Survey Creation, Data Quality, Data Analysis, Data Validation, Sampling (Statistics), Employee Surveys, Quality Assessment, Data Access, Exploratory Data Analysis
4.2
Rating, 4.2 out of 5 stars
762 reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
University of Michigan
Data Collection: Online, Telephone and Face-to-face
Skills you'll gain: Survey Creation, Interviewing Skills, Data Collection, Research Methodologies, Data Capture, Qualitative Research, Research Design, Data Validation, Data Quality, Data Ethics
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
343 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
IBM
Data Analysis with Python
Skills you'll gain: Data Wrangling, Data Cleansing, Data Analysis, Data Manipulation, Data Transformation, Data Import/Export, Exploratory Data Analysis, Predictive Analytics, Statistical Analysis, Regression Analysis, Predictive Modeling, Pandas (Python Package), Scikit Learn (Machine Learning Library), Statistical Modeling, Machine Learning Methods, Feature Engineering, Python Programming, Data Pipelines, NumPy
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
19K reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
University of Colorado Boulder
Data Collection and Integration
Skills you'll gain: Web Scraping, Data Integration, Data Cleansing, Data Import/Export, Data Quality, Data Processing, Data Collection, Data Manipulation, SQL, MySQL, Databases, Query Languages, Extensible Markup Language (XML), Pandas (Python Package), Application Programming Interface (API), Python Programming
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
12 reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Coursera Project Network
Introduction to Data Analysis using Microsoft Excel
Skills you'll gain: Microsoft Excel, Excel Formulas, Spreadsheet Software, Pivot Tables And Charts, Data Analysis, Data Manipulation, Data Mining
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
3.9K reviews
Intermediate · Guided Project · Less Than 2 Hours
Status: Free
Vanderbilt University
Data Management for Clinical Research
Skills you'll gain: Clinical Data Management, Data Capture, Clinical Research, Data Management, Data Collection, Data Sharing, Data Strategy, Data Quality, Sampling (Statistics), Data Storage, Regulatory Compliance
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
1.7K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: New
Multiple educators
Data Science Foundations
Skills you'll gain: Dashboard, Pseudocode, Jupyter, Algorithms, Data Mining, Pandas (Python Package), Correlation Analysis, Web Scraping, NumPy, Probability & Statistics, Predictive Modeling, Big Data, Automation, Data Visualization Software, Data Collection, Data Science, GitHub, Python Programming, Machine Learning Algorithms, Unsupervised Learning
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
111K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: AI skills
IBM
IBM Data Analyst
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Dashboard, Data Visualization Software, Plotly, Data Presentation, Data Wrangling, Data Visualization, SQL, Generative AI, Interactive Data Visualization, Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Cleansing, Big Data, Jupyter, Matplotlib, Data Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Pandas (Python Package), Excel Formulas, Professional Networking
Build toward a degree
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
90K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: AI skills
IBM
IBM Data Science
Skills you'll gain: Dashboard, Data Visualization Software, Data Wrangling, Data Visualization, SQL, Supervised Learning, Feature Engineering, Plotly, Interactive Data Visualization, Jupyter, Statistical Reporting, Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Mining, Data Cleansing, Matplotlib, Data Analysis, Unsupervised Learning, Generative AI, Pandas (Python Package), Professional Networking
Build toward a degree
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
141K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months