I guess part of it is do you want to collect data, or analyse and massage the data. Just collecting data? NoSQL looks good, you can throw stuff in and get it

I guess part of it is do you want to collect data, or analyse and massage the data. Just collecting data? NoSQL looks good, you can throw stuff in and get it out easy, but moving bits around is where it gets tricky. You will notice a lot of noSQL examples are forums, blogs, CMSs and such that don't get much action in changes, just additions and mixed media too. If you want to move bits, crunch numbers, mix and match, etc. SQLish DBs will make those tasks easier. Queries may be long data sets spread out but you can assuredly get out the results you want. What do you want to do is pretty important on what to choose. Take your target purpose and see if you can find examples in that database if there aren't many even close that might indicate its not currently be as easy to accomplish.