[keithpeter]

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/data

Languages change slowly over time. I find myself using plural data when I'm talking science and singular data when I'm talking about hard drives. Hadn't noticed until your post!

Strange isn't it?

[bbgm]

I have always used the plural data when talking about scientific data. Years of writing papers pretty much drilled that into my fingers.