Bardia Roghani

The cost of data collection is influenced by various factors. These include the frequency of data collection, which can be costly due to ongoing efforts and resources. The need for specialized expertise, especially for complex data requiring expert analysis, also adds to the expenses. Additionally, the methods used, such as surveys, interviews, or advanced technological tools, have varying costs. Primary methods are generally more expensive than using existing databases. Furthermore, the human element, whether involving individuals or coordinated teams, significantly impacts the overall cost. All of these factors contribute to the economic footprint of the data collection process.

The following references will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the various cost factors involved in data collection and will help guide your research methodology:

• https://hal.science/hal-03741847/document
• https://crawlbase.com/blog/cost-of-data-collection/

• Article A Framework for the Economic Analysis of Data Collection Met...

• Research A systematic review of the cost of data collection for perfo...

The answer to your question depends on many factors, including definitions, and how they interact. I would separate questionnaire design work, data collection, data processing (cleaning and preparing the data, though the categories get a little murky if data cleaning results in re-contacting the respondents), and data analysis. Specialized expertise tends to fall least within the data data collection phase, and for large surveys it is the number of labor hours devoted to interviewing and contacting the respondents that tends to be the largest expense. However, in-person interviewing is more labor-intensive than telephone interviewing, which in turn is more labor-intensive than telephone prompting, which is more labor-intensive than mail prompting, which is more labor-intensive than email or text prompting. Thus, the proportion of expenses that labor consumes for in-person household interviews will be very different from that for online surveys. For that reason, online surveys tend to be the least expensive. However, the cost of programming an online survey can vary tremendously depending on the degree to which one is programming complex customized features into the software. Other kinds of factors are also important. For example, providing a monetary incentive can be a cost element, but may be cost-effective if it reduces the number of contact attempts. Using FedEx might increase your mailing costs, but might decrease the number of contacts required. And if you don't have an existing infrastructure in place, that will also increase your costs. Obviously the targeted response rate makes a big difference as well.

In order to obtain insights into the main cost components of data collection, it is important to consider various factors that contribute to the overall expenses. One of the primary cost components is labor, including the salaries and benefits of personnel involved in data collection such as researchers, analysts, and data entry specialists. Additionally, equipment costs play a significant role in data collection expenses, which may include software licenses, hardware purchases or rentals, and maintenance fees. Travel expenses for fieldwork or site visits also need to be considered when calculating the total cost of data collection. Finally, operational costs such as printing materials, postage fees for surveys, and utilities for data centers can add to the overall expense. By understanding these key cost components, organizations can better plan and budget for their data collection efforts.

Normally cost incurred in data collection are:

1. Travel expenses for you and helpers (if deployed)

2. Salaries

3. Equipments if bought and used

4. SHort meetings with respondents if conducted

5. Stationeries, etc

Bardia Roghani

Manpower: if you need to collect data in the field (e.g. on geometry and/or structure of the system), manpower is by far the most costly component. Next is the validation of the data: time absorbing but crucial. A significant cost reduction can be obtained by asking inspectors to verify data in the field while inspecting, this reduced the overall costs and guarantees a constant validation of your data base.