Kibbitzer 6 |
Data: singular or plural? |
The following table summarises the results of of an investigation of 750 randomly-selected citations for data from each of the following publications:
Publication | Frequency | Marked plur/sing | Plural | Singular |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nature | 1:563 | 187 (23.6%) | 175 (93.6%) | 12 (6.4%) |
New Scientist | 1:1,970 | 123 (16.4%) | 84 (69.9%) | 39 (30.1%) |
Guardian | 1:22,047 | 81 (10.8%) | 32 (39.5%) | 49 (60.5%) |
The table shows that:
1 orresponding to its importance. The weighted data are then processed to produce a result. The 2 n of the experiment contained the gene. "Our data suggest that distances from engineered crop 3 What is perhaps more interesting is that the data appear to be independent of peer group. The 4 ghts into the way HIV might spread even when data on sexual behaviour are scarce. The first s 5 mber of animals taken in past seasons. Those data go into an assessment process in which the 6 analysis of the registry by the NRPB. These data show a correlation between lifetime exposur 7 tain about which treatments to use. But when data from large numbers of women are systematica 8 1989 and 1990, the last two years for which data are published, British discharges of heavy 9 sow the benefit wears off over time, but the data are "blind" so no one knows except the inde 10 known as Korner returns. To cope with these data, hospitals bought large mainframe computers 11 ecord their morning round of checks. All the data is then dumped into the main computer. "If 12 normal circumstances, only half the digital data in the store is read. If the player is jogg 13 or the Inmarsat A satellites. The compressed data is fed onto the hard disc of a powerful per 14 otates at twice the normal speed so that the data is read off the disc twice as fast. All the 15 an just charitable feelings," says Dubnick. "Data is being digitised because it's easier to a 16 use, for a given image quality, it used less data than DCT-based systems. `The data rate with 17 possible for a long time, if at all". Video data runs at a very high rate, too high for voic 18 nual layers downwards from the surface. "Our data strongly indicates that the last glaciation 19 ine research, concluding that "the available data provides no basis for testing any experimen 20 nuclear engineers also like to back up this data by examining samples from the pressure vessNote that when it is used as a plural the word data cannot be preceded by a numeral: so instead of *"There are three data which support this hypothesis" write "There are three sets of data which support this hypothesis" or (depending on the situation) "There are three pieces of evidence which support this hypothesis."
March 1997 footnote. It seems that crtteria (plural of criterion) has begun to journey along the path completed by agenda and on which data is already well under way. Of 1,504 citations from the Guardian for 1994 and Times for 1995, 14 (1%) are marked as being singular:
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16th June 1996 and 3rd March 1997 | Consultant: Tim Johns |
Back to Tim Johns EAP page |