Collecting data isn’t that hard, but what’s hard is creating and maintaining a data repository. Even harder is making sense out of a data repository.
The concept of a data repository has grown in popularity in order to efficiently manage and utilize this data. A data repository is a centralized storage site for data that allows for easy access, data management, and analysis.
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Here we start with a definition of a data repository, how to create a research insights repository and the benefits.
What is a data repository?
A data repository is a data library or data archive. It may be referred to large database management systems or several databases that collect, manages, and store sensitive data sets for data analysis, sharing, and reporting.
Authorized users can easily access and retrieve data by using query and search tools, which helps with research and decision-making. It gives a complete and unified view of the data by combining data from different sources, like databases, apps, and external systems.
Data can be collected and stored in different ways, like aggregated data which is usually collected from multiple sources or segments of a business. Then they can be stored in a structured or unstructured manner and later on can be tagged with different metadata.
The data repository uses structured organization methods, standardized schemas, and metadata to ensure that the data is always the same and easy to find. It has tools for storing, managing, and protecting data, such as compression, indexing, access controls, encryption, and reporting.
Data repositories generally maintain subscriptions to licensed data resources for its user to access the information.
Data repository types
Security is crucial as more organizations adopt data repositories to manage and store data. Data repositories are generally categorized into four types of data repositories:
Data warehouse
This is the largest repository type, where data is collected from several business segments or sources. In this repository, the data stored is generally used for analysis and reporting, which will help the data users or teams to make the correct decision in their business or project.
Data lake
In this repository, data can be in any form that is structured, semi-structured, or unstructured. It is a huge storehouse of unstructured data categorized and labeled with metadata.
The main reason of coming into existence of a data lake is the limitation of the data warehouses. It helps to gain better data governance and data governance framework total control of the data it has in it.
Data mart
Data marts are often confused with data warehouses. However, they serve different functions.
This subset of the data warehouse is focused on a particular subject, department, or any other specific area. Since we have the data stored for a specific area, a user can swiftly access the insights without spending much time searching in an entire data warehouse, ultimately making users’ lives easy.
Data cube
This repository contains the most complex data in it. It may be described as the multidimensional extensions of different tables, and they’re generally used to represent data that is too complex to be described by just tables, rows, and columns.
So basically, a data cube can be used when we analyze data available to us and beyond 3-D. Here, we’ll particularly talk about data repositories used in market research.
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Benefits of using a research data repository
Using research data repositories has many benefits for both researchers and the scientific community as a whole. Here are some significant benefits:
Greater visibility
Having data saved in data repositories enable you to view data anytime. Keeping it siloed in Excel sheets or applications not used by a team reduces its visibility and usability. It leads to a waste of time and resources.
Enhanced discoverability
Saving data in digital format make it more accessible. Just search for the piece of data you’re looking for, and voila! Also, the metadata added along with the data repository enables others to understand the large context and make more sense of it.
Reuse data
A data repository contains many pieces of data. However, it’s more than just a warehouse. Discrete datasets are joined such that you can derive interesting insights into your area of research. You can generate various types of reports using the same datasets.
For instance, if you conduct an online survey and collect data from your target audience, you can generate a comparison report to compare responses from various demographic groups. You can also generate trend reports to understand how people’s choices have changed over time. Both of these reports use the same data.
Gain insights from multiple sources of data
Integrating data repositories with other applications lets you see a multi-dimensional view of your data. For instance, you can analyze the historical survey data along with the actual sales data to understand the accuracy of insights gained in the past.
How to create one using online tools?
Creating data repositories for research data is simple with online tools. If you are conducting your research using surveys, communities, focus groups, or any other method, here are some of the ways to create a one.
Create a questionnaire
Many online tools allow you to drag and drop question types. You can create a survey in under 5 mins! Or you can also use a ready-to-use survey template to save time. Customize the template per your needs, and you’re ready.
Brand your survey
Customize the header and footer, and add a logo to look more professional. You can also choose a font style and color that suit your brand voice. Branding your surveys increases the chances of getting more responses.
Distribute your survey
Many tools offer different ways to distribute your survey, such as email, embedding data on the website, or sharing it on social media sites. You can also generate a QR code or let your audience answer questions using a mobile app.
Analyze the data
Finally, once you have collected your data, generating the reports is just a matter of time. Use tools that let you create dashboards and generate reports with ease.
How QuestionPro help in data repository?
QuestionPro is a powerful online survey and research platform that collects, analyzes, and manages data. It mostly creates surveys, collects data, and helps establish and maintain data repositories. QuestionPro helps data repository management in several ways:
- Data collection: QuestionPro lets you develop and send surveys to collect data. Surveys can use multiple choice, rating scales, open-ended questions, and more. Your data repositories get important data from this data collection process.
- Data Management: With QuestionPro, you can effectively organize and manage your gathered data. It filters, categorizes, and validates data to ensure accuracy and quality. These management tools help keep a data repository that is well-organized and ordered.
- Data Analysis: QuestionPro has built-in tools to help you examine and visualize your data. You can create reports, charts, and graphs based on survey answers to help you find trends, patterns, and insights. The analysis results can be saved in your data repository.
- Real-time Reporting: Real-time reporting lets you view and analyze your data. After collecting replies, you may instantly generate reports to assess trends and progress and make data-driven decisions.
- Data Security: QuestionPro prioritizes data security. To prevent data breaches, it encrypts, transfers, and restricts data access. This makes sure that the data in your repository is safe and that users’ privacy is protected.
- Data Integration: QuestionPro integrates with Excel, Google Sheets, and SPSS. This connection lets you import external data or survey responses into your data repositories for analysis and storage.
Data collecting, integration, management, analysis, and security features in QuestionPro can help you manage your repository. It’s useful for data repository management since it centralizes data collection, storage, and analysis.
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If you need any help conducting research or creating a data repository, connect with our team of experts. We can guide you through the process and help you make the most of your data.
Frequently Asking Questions (FAQ)
Your data repository should suit your demands. You should choose a repository that is popular and relevant to your research domain. Your data format should be supported by the repository.
Data repositories are managed digital environments that specialize in gathering, characterizing, distributing, and tracking research data. Sharing data in a repository is a best practice that is frequently mandated by federal authorities.
