collecting
noun/kəˈlɛktɪŋ/
Etymology From collect + -ing.
1
A hobby including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector.
- The task of data gathering is not a random walk, a sensual search, or the bemused collectings of a beachcomber.2009, Melissa A Hardy, Alan Bryman, Handbook of Data Analysis, page 568: