The research into the collection of data for use in simulation is lacking. This is rather unfortunate since data quality and availability are two of the most challenging issues in many simulation projects. We have conducted a pilot survey from simulation practitioners to understand the data collection process in simulation, its issues, solutions and impact on project outcomes. The result reveals interesting insights. Some of them confirm what we believe to be happening in practice. A few of them contradict what we may have assumed to be happening in practice.