Organise the collection of data

One-off data collection projects are very different from longer term, ongoing data collection strategies. If your project is a one-off, it might be sufficient to organise a single collection effort, if not, then it's important to consider the frequency of your collection effort, its cost and the practicalities of the collection workflow.

Different methods work best in different contexts and for different questions. In addition, different methods have different costs and maintenance considerations. Pick your collection methods carefully (interviews, surveys, using online tools…) depending on which are most appropriate for your project.

Sometimes it is best to start collecting data right away, so that you can get an idea of what the real data looks like. This can inform your data collection strategy as you progress with your project.

Here are some resources that can help you select your collection approach:

• Responsible Data Handbook : Has advice on how to think about and design a responsible data collection process.
• Open crowdsourced data: Provides some interesting reading on crowdsourcing data responsibly.

Have you applied or developed a practice that you would like to share with the influence mapping community? Edit this post on Github!