ABSTRACT
It would take an entire tome to thoroughly discuss data collection; that is not our intent here. Rather, we want to explore some of the challenges and complexities that often occur during the data collection process. Data collection involves a number of processes that must be managed, including negotiating issues of power. Furthermore, there are numerous data collection methods beyond the one-on-one interview, especially methods made possible by digital technologies. We begin our exploration by uncovering the challenges and complexities in more traditional data collection methods and then move to discuss challenges and complexities in more recent avenues of data collection made possible by technological advances. We follow that with a cursory discussion of researcher power in data collection and conclude by summarizing some of the challenges in conducting a mixed methods study. Yet, before data can be collected, a data collection management plan is necessary.
