Editor’s note: Dave Koch is vice president of Adapt Inc., a Minnetonka, Minn., research firm.

Technological advances have provided today’s researcher with many options for data collection. Both the old and the newer methods have their strengths and weaknesses. As a result, many researchers are utilizing several different data collection techniques to ensure they are reaching the right numbers and types of respondents. For example, 75 percent of the data collection on a survey project may be done using an Internet survey. The researcher may also choose to augment the sample with a mailing to insure representative response rates from a particular demographic that is less likely to be Internet-enabled. Additional phone interviews may also be done to round out the sample.

The end result is often data coming in from different vendors, at different times, and often in different formats. This can result in a compatibility nightmare for data processing if you are not careful.

Most of these types of problems can be avoided with good planning at the very beginning of a project. However this can be difficult in today’s work environment. Researchers are often so busy in the initial stages of getting the project ready to field that all back-end processing details are put on the back burner. This may seem to make sense as you rush to meet deadline pressures and deal with last-minute client changes. However the price can be very high in terms of your time, the use of company data processing resources, and even project quality.

Examples of problems we have witnessed include:

As these examples demonstrate, the cost of failing to manage multiple data sources properly can be very expensive. The key to success is taking the time to carefully consider back-end processing requirements when you first begin setting up your project.

Here are some tips to keep in mind next time you are pl...