Data is / are ?

Data，在這一個資訊社會上，我想小學生也會懂的字，但究竟Data 用 is 還是用 are 呢?
試用幾個不同 level 的 sources 來查證一下：

1. 隨意在 google 查 -- 科學用 are, 一般用 is

So, on the issue of data in modern American usage, you might say "The data is mixed". But as for consistency in scientific writing, the data are strongly behind it.

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2.Wikipedia-- 科學用 are, 一般用 is

Many British and UN academic, scientific, and professional style guides (e.g., see page 43 of the World Health Organization Style Guide) request that authors treat data as a plural noun.

UK usage now widely accepts treating data as singular in standard English, including everyday newspaper usage at least in non-scientific use.

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3. Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary (Fourth Edition) -- 兩者皆可

The data is /are still being analysed.

NOTE ON USAGE(節錄)
There is uncertainty with some nouns as to whether they are singular or plural ......
This data is correct and These data are correct are both acceptable

4. Practical English Usage -- 兩者皆可

Data is originally the plural of datum, which is not now used; in modren english, data is used as both singular and plural.

5. Britannica Online (Dictionary and Thesaurus) -- 科學用 are, 一般用 is

Data leads a life of its own quite independent of datum, of which it was originally the plural. It occurs in two constructions.....

Both constructions are standard. The plural construction is more common in print, evidently because the house style of several publishers mandates it.

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所以，如果想平凡一點，Data is / are 也是對的，但想高深一點(尤其是進行科學研究)，便用 Data are 吧。