PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and apparatus for more promptly acquiring information relating to a sample.SOLUTION: Information from multiple detectors acquiring different types of information is combined to determine one or more properties of a sample more efficiently than the properties could be determined using a single type of information from a single type of detector. In some embodiments, information is collected simultaneously from the different detectors which can greatly reduce data acquisition time. In some embodiments, information from different points on the sample are grouped based on information from a first type detector, and information from a second type detector related to these points is combined, for example, to create a single spectrum from the second type detector of a region of common composition as determined by the first type detector. In some embodiments, the data collection is adaptive, that is, the data are analyzed during collection to determine whether sufficient data have been collected to determine a desired property with the desired confidence.