Research Tips
Updating Data
Even if you’ve taken great care in collecting your data, it’s important to ensure that they don’t get out of date. For example, several recent news stories have quoted the rate of Internet penetration based on data that was collected three years ago, yet it’s obvious that the rate of Internet penetration increased during that time. Using obsolete data such as these is likely to lead to erroneous conclusions.
The “shelf” life of data varies based on a number of factors, so there is no firm rule about how frequently you should be collecting new data. However, some things to consider are:
- Where the product or service that the data relate to is in its life cycle. (More frequent updates are usually needed during the growth stage of the life cycle than the maturity stage.)
- Whether the data are likely to be influenced by fashions, trends, etc. (If they are, then more frequent updates may be needed.)
- What the data are to be used for and how precise they need to be. (The greater the precision that is required for decision making, the more frequently new data need to be collected.)