To the Editor:
It’s very difficult to give much credence to the substance of the Commentary by Suzanne Tacheny and Linda Plattner, (“Giving ‘Data’ Its Own Assessment,” May 11, 2005.), when the word “data” is treated as if it were a singular noun, as in “. . . what is data?” The question more correctly is “What are data?”
It is regrettable that not only would the authors, who describe themselves as “data advocates,” make such a grammatical mistake throughout the essay, but that the editors also failed to notice (including in the title of the article).
Concetta Duval
Winchester, Mass.
