Data Collection Modes & Channels
Data collection modes and channels are the different ways organisations deliver surveys and gather responses from participants across contexts.
This category includes terms for delivery formats (online, SMS, phone, paper, kiosks), participant touchpoints, accessibility and multilingual considerations, and trade-offs between reach, response quality and operational complexity.
Adaptive survey routing
Adaptive survey routing is the practice of directing respondents through different question paths based on their answers, profile or other data so each person sees only the questions relevant to them. It makes surveys shorter, more relevant and easier to complete.
Audio diary
An audio diary is a method of collecting qualitative data where participants record short spoken entries over time to describe experiences, feelings or events in their own words. It captures voice, timing and context that written responses may miss.
Behavioral tracking
Behavioral tracking is the automated capture of how people interact with a survey or form—what they click, how long they spend on questions, where they drop off, and other in-session actions. It supplements self-reported answers with observable signals about participant behaviour.
CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing)
CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing) is an interviewer-led survey method where questions and answers are shown and recorded on a computer, tablet or smartphone in real time. It replaces paper questionnaires with software that enforces question order, validation and skip logic, and can work offline or online.
CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing)
CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing) is a survey method where an interviewer uses software on a computer to guide phone interviews and record responses. It combines human interviewing with digital scripts, routing and real-time data capture.
Clickstream data
Clickstream data is the record of the pages, links and actions a user takes while interacting with a website or app. It shows the sequence and timing of clicks, taps and page views that make up a user's journey.
Crowdsourced feedback
Crowdsourced feedback is information, ideas or opinions gathered from a broad group of people who volunteer input—often through open channels like online forms, forums, social media or public consultations. It relies on many contributors to surface priorities, problems and suggestions.
Diary study
A diary study is a research method where participants record short, regular entries about their activities, experiences or feelings over a set period. It captures real-world, time-stamped behaviour and context that one-off surveys often miss.
Digital trace data
Digital trace data are the passive signals people leave when they use online services — things like timestamps, device type, page views and navigation paths. In surveys, these traces help you understand how people interact with a form without asking them directly.
Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA)
Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is a method of collecting brief, repeated responses from people in their everyday environments, captured at or near the time an experience occurs. EMA uses short prompts — often on mobile devices — to reduce recall bias and record context, mood or behaviour as it happens.
Email survey
An email survey is a questionnaire sent to people by email, typically containing a link to an online form (or occasionally embedded questions) so recipients can provide feedback or data. It’s a common, targeted way to collect information from a known list of contacts.
Embedded survey
An embedded survey is a questionnaire placed directly inside a website or app (often as an iframe or widget) so participants complete it without leaving the page. It creates a seamless, on-site experience that reduces friction and improves response rates.
Experience Sampling Method (ESM)
Experience Sampling Method (ESM) is a research technique that prompts people to answer short questions repeatedly in real time so researchers capture thoughts, feelings and behaviours as they happen. It reduces recall bias and shows how experiences vary across situations and time.
Face-to-face interview
A face-to-face interview is an in-person conversation where an interviewer asks a participant a set of prepared questions and records their answers. It’s used to collect detailed, contextual feedback and is especially useful for engaging people who prefer speaking to filling in forms.
IVR (Interactive Voice Response)
IVR (Interactive Voice Response) is an automated phone system that plays recorded or synthetic voice prompts and collects answers by keypad (DTMF) or speech. It lets organisations run surveys and gather responses by phone, often in multiple languages.
In-app survey
An in-app survey is a short questionnaire presented directly inside a website or mobile app so users can respond without leaving the product. It reduces friction and increases response rates by collecting feedback in the moment and in the user's environment.
Kiosk survey
A kiosk survey is a short, stand-alone questionnaire deployed on a shared device (tablet, kiosk, or public computer) for in-person respondents. It’s designed for quick, easy completion in locations like libraries, clinics or events and often runs in a locked, touch-friendly mode.
Longitudinal study
A longitudinal study repeatedly collects the same information from the same people or groups over time to measure how things change. It tracks trends, development or the effects of an intervention by comparing data from multiple points.
Mail survey
A mail survey is a questionnaire sent and returned through postal mail (paper) to collect information from a target population. It’s often used to reach people who have limited internet access or prefer paper forms.
Mobile ethnography
Mobile ethnography is a qualitative research method where participants use their mobile devices to record and share real‑time experiences (text, photos, audio, video or location) while they go about their daily lives. It captures context-rich, in‑the‑moment data that traditional surveys often miss.
Mobile survey
A mobile survey is a questionnaire built and delivered for people using smartphones or tablets so they can answer quickly and easily on the device they already carry. Mobile surveys use responsive design and simple interactions (links, SMS/WhatsApp, QR codes or in-app prompts) to reduce friction and boost participation.
Multimode survey
A multimode survey collects the same questionnaire using two or more ways of responding — for example online, by phone, on paper, by SMS or in person — so people can answer in the way that suits them. It’s used to reach different groups, increase participation and reduce coverage gaps when one channel won’t reach everyone.
On-site intercept survey
An on-site intercept survey is a short questionnaire given to people while they are physically present at a location relevant to the survey topic. It's designed to capture immediate feedback by approaching people where they are — in stores, at events, transport hubs, clinics or community centres.
Online community forum
An online community forum is a web-based space where people hold ongoing, topic-based conversations through posts and replies. It supports asynchronous discussion, peer-to-peer exchange and organised threads rather than single, time-limited data collection.
Online focus group
An online focus group is a moderated discussion conducted over the internet where a small, diverse group of participants explore attitudes, reactions and ideas about a topic, product or policy. It replicates an in‑person group conversation using video, audio, chat or forum tools so researchers can collect qualitative insights remotely.
Online survey
An online survey is a questionnaire distributed and completed over the internet, usually via a web link or mobile device. It lets organisations collect structured (multiple choice, ratings) and open-text feedback quickly from many people.
Panel survey
A panel survey repeatedly collects responses from the same group of people (a panel) over time to track changes in attitudes, behaviours or circumstances. It’s a longitudinal research method used for monitoring trends, evaluating interventions and understanding individual-level change.
Passive data collection
Passive data collection means gathering information automatically from systems, devices or logs without asking people to fill in a survey or form. It captures behavioural, technical or environmental signals (e.g. page views, timestamps, device language) that can complement active responses.
Point-of-sale (POS) feedback
Point-of-sale (POS) feedback is short, immediate customer feedback gathered at the place where a purchase is completed — for example at a till, on a receipt, at a kiosk or via a QR code on packaging. It captures customer impressions while the experience is fresh.
Pop-up survey
A pop-up survey is a short questionnaire presented to a website or app user in a modal or small overlay, triggered by behaviour or timing (for example after a visit, on exit intent, or after completing a task). It captures quick feedback in-context without sending users to a separate page.
Push-to-web survey
A push-to-web survey is a data‑collection approach that actively directs people to a single web-hosted questionnaire using channels like SMS, email, QR codes or printed invitations. It’s a simple way to reach respondents where they are and collect answers online.
QR-code survey
A QR-code survey is a questionnaire accessed by scanning a QR code with a smartphone or tablet camera, which opens the survey URL so participants can respond quickly without typing a long web address. It's a mobile-first way to share surveys on printed materials, screens or signage.
Respondent-driven sampling
Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is a chain‑referral recruitment method used to reach hard‑to‑reach or hidden populations by asking participants to recruit their peers. It combines controlled peer recruitment with statistical weighting to try to reduce bias and estimate population characteristics.
SMS (text) survey
An SMS (text) survey is a short questionnaire sent to people by text message. It can collect quick answers by reply or send a link to a longer web form that opens in the recipient’s language.
Sensor data
Sensor data is information automatically recorded by electronic devices (sensors) about physical conditions — for example location, temperature, noise or motion. It provides continuous, objective measurements that can complement answers people give in surveys.
Snowball sampling
A non‑probability recruitment method where existing study participants recruit future participants from their social networks, causing the sample to grow like a snowball. It's often used to reach hard‑to‑find or networked populations.
Social media listening
Social media listening is the practice of tracking and analysing public conversations on social platforms to understand what people are saying about a topic, organisation or issue. It combines automated collection (mentions, hashtags, keywords) with analysis (trends, sentiment, themes) to generate actionable insights.
Video interview
A video interview is a qualitative data collection method where participants answer questions on camera — either live (synchronous) or by recording responses to prompts (asynchronous). It captures speech, tone and visual cues and can be transcribed and translated for analysis.
Web intercept survey
A web intercept survey is a short questionnaire displayed to website visitors at a specific moment (for example as a pop‑up, banner or slide‑in) to collect immediate, contextual feedback. It’s triggered by visitor behaviour or page context and is designed to capture quick responses from people while they’re engaged with the site.
Web survey
A web survey is an online questionnaire that people complete in a web browser (on desktop or mobile) to give feedback or information. It’s delivered via a link, embed or email and can collect answers instantly from many respondents.
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