Data Is or Are: Is Data Singular or Plural?
Data can be either singular or plural, though it is now more often used as a singular word, much like the word information (all the data you need is on this drive). Its use as a plural word is now restricted mainly to academic and scientific writing (the data are inconclusive).
When using this word, check whether you want to convey the sense of a plural noun (the data indicate that . . .) or a singular mass noun (the data has been downloaded).
The word data came into English as the plural of the Latin word datum, which means “a single piece of information.” Over time, data became synonymous with “information”: it then became a singular word in its own right, no longer simply a plural.
- Singular: The data is unreliable.
- Plural: The data are all from the same source.
- Plural: The data we collected in this study indicate that cats like country music.
Although traditionalists prefer retaining the plural meaning of data, standard dictionaries agree that data can now be used as singular. Merriam-Webster lists data as a word that is “plural in form, but singular or plural in construction,” providing examples of both singular and plural usage. Oxford meanwhile simply lists data as a mass noun, noting that in technical fields, the word is still treated as plural. Cambridge also lists data as a noun that can be used with both singular and plural verbs.
Data as singular
Data is now generally considered singular and used to mean information. It is no longer used only as the plural of datum but stands on its own as a singular mass noun. It is then used with singular verbs and pronouns.
- Data for this year is not available, but it is available for last year.
- Our data shows that incidents of violent crime have declined over the last decade.
Data is also used with determiners and quantifiers used with mass instead of plural nouns (such as this, much, little).
- There is little data available for verification.
- Much of the data released is questionable.
Data as plural
In academic and scientific papers, data generally retains its meaning as the plural of datum. It is then used with plural verbs and pronouns.
- The data are ready to be presented in graphs and figures.
- Acme Inc.’s earnings data have just been released.
- After population data were collected, they were cross-referenced and published.
Note that when data is considered plural, it is used with plural determiners and quantifiers like these, many, and few.
- These data come from various sources.
- Only a few of the data published are as yet unverified.
Interestingly, cardinal numbers are not used before data, even when it is a plural noun.
- Incorrect: Poco has updated four data in the file.
Correct: Poco has updated four points of data in the file. - Incorrect: Four hundred data are ready to be shown in graphs and figures.
Correct: Four hundred sets of data are ready to be shown in graphs and figures.
This behavior—the inability to take a number—is similar to that of mass nouns.
In scientific, academic, and other writing
In speech and nonscientific writing, use data as singular rather than plural. In writing for a general audience, “data is” sounds more natural than “data are,” which can sound overly formal and pedantic.
- The data from his brain has been downloaded into a computer.
- When data is organized in tabular format, it can easily be analyzed.
- All the data that makes up a human life is now stored in the cloud.
Sometimes, you may want to convey the sense of a plural word. Using data as a plural noun can help suggest discreteness. This can be useful in scientific writing, where it is important to focus on the individual pieces of information that make up a data set.
- The data indicate that the fiscal measures implemented by various states are working.
discrete pieces of data from different states
- Genetic data are linkable to individual participants, thus raising concerns of privacy.
- The data used in this study have been collected through various methodologies.
Data may be singular or plural (the data is/are . . .), but the word datas does not exist.
Chicago, AP, APA style
Many major style manuals now allow for data to be used as a singular noun. The Chicago Manual of Style considers it acceptable to use data as singular, admitting that treating the word as plural can sound pedantic. It does recommend using data as a plural word in writing for the sciences.
The AP Stylebook also suggests using data as singular when writing for a general audience, but still recommends treating it as plural in academic texts.
In contrast, the APA Publication Manual recommends restricting data to plural usage. This advice is consistent with the general recommendation to treat data as plural in academic writing, given that APA style is preferred in the social sciences.
Examples from published content
Here are some examples from published content that illustrate how data is generally considered singular.
He says the data is likely being used for further malicious hacking campaigns.
— “How your personal data is being scraped from social media,” BBC News (2021)Companies say the data is shared only with vetted partners.
— “Twelve Million Phones, One Dataset, Zero Privacy,” New York Times (2019)Real-world driving data from connected cars is both a treasure trove and a mine-field for auto insurers.
— “Driver Data Is a Help and a Hazard for Auto Insurers,” Wall Street Journal (2020)What type of data is available on Data.nasa.gov?
— NASA website (Accessed August 8, 2021)
In academic writing, the word data is often treated as plural, not only because it sounds more formal but also to convey a sense of plurality: to emphasize the individual pieces of information that comprise a data set.
Available meteorological data include wind speed and direction. . . . These data are available from the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute.
— “Genetic Data Provide Evidence for Wind-Mediated Transmission of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza,” The Journal of Infectious Diseases (2012)Vector data are composed of points, polylines, and polygons.
Metadata: Singular or plural?
Metadata, a word that refers to data about other data, is also used as both singular and plural, though it is most often used as a singular mass noun. Like the word data (from which metadata was derived), metadata is generally treated as plural only in formal texts, such as scientific and academic papers.
- Singular: The metadata changes whenever the data is changed.
- Singular: Metadata is often useful for accounting and forensic purposes.
- Plural: Metadata are incredibly useful for providing context to a set of data.
- Plural: Metadata provide information not provided by the data itself.
As with data, metadata is more often used as singular than plural. Check whether you want to convey the meaning of a singular entity (a single set of metadata) or a plural word (the various pieces of information that make up the metadata). Also note that using metadata as plural can sound stuffy and pedantic in everyday usage.
Here are some examples from published content that show how metadata can be used as both singular and plural.
- Singular:
Metadata is implacable, unreasoning, unironic.
— Devon McCann Jackson, “When Meta Met Data,” New York Times (2013) - Singular:
But metadata is not the only thing hidden in your photos.
— Jerone Andrews, “The Hidden Fingerprint inside Your Photos”, BBC Future (2021) - Singular:
Descriptive metadata provides information about the intellectual content of a digital object.
— Allison B. Zhang and Don Gourley, “Descriptive Metadata,” Creating Digital Collections (2009) - Plural:
Metadata are included to provide context or extended information that is outside of the scope of data itself, for example, author information, or time stamps beyond those on the local file system.
— Cory Altheide and Harlan Carvey, Digital Forensics with Open Source Tools (2011)