Data Données Visualisation
More Data, Please | Mother Jones
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/07/more-data-please
By Kevin Drum
Thu Jul. 5, 2012 8:03 PM PDT
The Wall Street Journal is the latest to succumb to the forces of goodness and light:
Most style guides and dictionaries have come to accept the use of the noun data with either singular or plural verbs, and we hereby join the majority.
As usage has evolved from the word’s origin as the Latin plural of datum, singular verbs now are often used to refer to collections of information: Little data is available to support the conclusions.
Otherwise, generally continue to use the plural: Data are still being collected.
(As a singular/plural test, try to substitute statistics for data: It doesn’t work in the first case — little statistics is available — so the singular is fails to pass muster. The substitution does work in the second case — statistics are still being collected – so the plural are passes muster.)