RESEARCH DATA COLLECTION
- Accurate data collection for any research is sine quo non for any credible research. Most of the data collection in India is done by government agencies and some NGOs but the authenticity of such data remains under cloud. The economists in India have recently even questioned the GDP growth rate being put out by the government because the data on which the growth rate was calculated was either not correct or not verifiable.
- India has a predominantly informal economy and majority of the economic activity is not captured by the banks and other financial institutions. Similarly most of India still lives in villages and the lives of majority of the villagers generally do on appear on the radars of the governmental agencies and that is one of the reasons of faulty decision making in the country.
- Most of the media houses fail to predict the results of Indian elections because their data collection has an urban bias and is not even credible. The political parties often ridicule the media for their inaccurate election predictions.
- There are serious ramifications of faulty data collection or improper data. This may result in the research questions not being answered accurately or not being validated in a repeat study. Sometimes it even leads to wastage of public money and resources through compromised decision.
- There is huge market for accurate data collected by a reliable organisation with an all India reach. Indian Defence forces command highest credibility in our country and their veterans live in almost all the corners of the country. These retired soldiers have lived a disciplined life and they can be trusted to perform the painstaking task of data collection with a lot of zeal and accuracy. Correct reporting of events is been ingrained in them during their service. They are well educated and respected in the society to enable them to seek the correct prospects for data collection.
- A large number of veterans are employed by security agencies which makes them ideal for targeted data collection. Just imagine the ability of a security supervisor to distribute and collect questionnaires from the residents of housing societies or the employees of a company.
- Most of the veterans are connected either through their regimental network or their course / class/ training batch mates. So it is easy to get a large number of them on board for data collection at a short notice if there is promise of suitable compensation for their efforts.
We propose to start a data collection company through the network of veterans. Please let me know if there is a market for such a service. Suggestions to start the venture are also welcome.