Data collection should be carefully planned.
So many data-driven folks don’t understand this.
@garyackerman If you are initiating a “collection of information,” you have to answer the following questions:
- What data are you collecting?
- How much effort/cost will be required from respondents?
- What are you doing with it?
- Why do you need it for what you’re doing, especially if it’s sensitive?
- How will you protect it, and your respondents?
- How long will you keep it?
- Will the data/your analysis be made public?
Among other things.
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@garyackerman PRA guidance is a great example to look at for planning your own data collection even if not all of it applies to you directly because it forces you to interrogate what you’re doing, really decide what you need, not just packrat everything, and behave ethically towards people you are collecting data from. /end
@garyackerman It’s easier to plan when you have a statutory or regulatory requirement to do it - see the Paperwork Reduction Act, which is first and foremost about reducing red tape and form-filling for citizens and businesses (as the name suggests) but also makes agencies plan their data collection processes - with input from potential respondents, even!
https://www.opm.gov/about-us/open-government/digital-government-strategy/fitara/paperwork-reduction-act-guide.pdf
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