2 Data collection best practice

Data collection (i.e. obtaining data from its source) involves making decisions about which data to collect. This includes sampling, which is covered in detail in the previous module, but also includes consideration of which data and variables to collect for each sampled unit. In this section, we will review principles of best practice for AMR data collection, which will ultimately maximise the usefulness and reliability of AMR data analysis.

Best practice for AMR data collection (or, indeed, for any data collection) is a set of principles that ensure that data, and the process by which they are collected, are:

• beneficial for users
• standardised
• repeatable
• relevant
• timely
• disaggregated.