English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)

CLARIFYING THE LANGUAGE OF RESEARCH

The data for the study were analysed using speech act theory. ✔️
The data for the study was analysed using speech act theory. ✔️
Arguments abound on the choice of verb for the noun, data. Some people consider the singular sense of data incorrect since it is the plural of datum, and this is still maintained, especially in medical and financial publications. However, “data is” is becoming more prominent than “data are” in recent academic publications. The important thing, therefore, is to be consistent in whichever choice one decides to make.

He is conducting a research on the effects of single parenting. ✖️
He is conducting detailed research on the effects of single parenting. ✔️
This will be a useful piece of research. ✔️
I like doing research. ✔️
His researches in applied linguistics have focused on classroom interaction. ✔️

Note that research could be an empirical study or empirical studies. Even when it refers to just a study, it doesn’t attract the indefinite article ‘a’, except it is preceded by a quantifier such as “a piece of”. The preference for the plural form, researches, is prominent in British English. However, the use of “research” for one or more studies is commoner.
GAB