Importance of Data Collection

4. The key methods of collecting primary data (1.1). Justify the choice and application of data collection methods and research instruments to explore an area under investigation (2.3). Evaluate their relative strengths and weaknesses (2.4)

Legislation is a law or act which has been enacted by a governing body. Legislation can have many purposes: to regulate, authorize, provide (funds), declare or to restrict. Legislations are important throughout any work environment and society as without them we are not protected from

given extra safeguards for sensitive information – e.g. ethnicity, political views, religion, health or criminal records

Collection of information is essential to support the major functions and activities of the organisation. To ascertain this it is essential to have regular reports of the organisation and to do this you need regular financial reports and audits. A true vision of the organisation will give any management a better understanding of their situation and will thus help them to make a good viable decision.

Legislation is a law or a couple of laws made by the government and finalised by the parliament. The parliament decides whether the legislation is good enough or needs improvement.

All businesses and organisations have to check to see that the information they have stored is accurate. For example, the money coming in and going out have to be correctly recorded otherwise it will look as if the company has not made much profit and it can affect the share prices of the company, affect the employees as the company might not be able to pay the employees and will have to cut down on staff, lenders will not agree to lend money, etc.

Legislation is essential in order for a civilised society to function effectively and appropriately and to provide standardised

Depending on the nature of the company or organisation or business, different types of information will have to be stored. It can be secrets related to the company, highly confidential files related to the company or employees or customers / clients. So files have to be stored following all the confidentiality procedures and protected according to data protection act as these are information necessary for providing quality service and also for the smooth running of the company.

Data management is vital to any business as this is a key tool to an organisations business improvement, as you can refer back to data, and compare them against benchmarks. Analysing data can provide evidence for possible future structure such as identify trends, as well as indicate where improvements can be made. However there are strict procedures to be followed when collecting and storing data.

legislation is firmly in place, it may not always prevent misuse, unethical use, or objective

There are a number of methods of collecting data, some of them are – questionnaire, surveys, checklists, interviews, observations, focus group etc (Cordray, 1986; Einhorn and Hogarth, 1986).

Another reason to collect and record data is to comply with legal requirements and legislation, for example the principle of equality. If we have in our HR department adequate personnel records, we can make sure we are complying with the law and therefore

There are a variety of reasons why an organisation needs to collect HR data, these could be to satisfy legal requirements, provide relevant information in decision making and for consultation requirement, recording contractual arrangements and agreements, keep contact details of employees, provide documentation in the event of a claim against the organisation.

a) “to be able to retrieve information whenever it is needed. For example each organisation has to keep accurate records or information of their employees in order to be able to use this information for planning ahead (…)

1. Why does this organisation need to keep employee records (identify at least two reasons?)