anecdata
nounUK /ˈænɪkdeɪtə/ · US /ˈænikdætə/
Etymology Blend of anecdotal + data; also compare this to the plural of anecdote is not data, upon which this term likely plays. Equally, analysable as a blend of anecdote + data.
1
Derogatory, Humorous, Plural normally, Usually Anecdotal evidence.
- A handful of stores, just one mall, not what you'd call a statistically significant sample. In fact, the most recent government report was that retail sales rose in January, which just goes to show why the journalist's approach to reality, what you might call "anecdata," may be the flimsiest form of forecasting.1992 March 6, “Guessing Game [show #4285]”, in The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, Paul Solman (actor):
- Anecodotal evidence strongly suggests that this is just the high profile expression of a much larger problem of misogynistic violence. / Ah, yes. Anecdata. Fortunately, real honest studies which are peer-reviewed and critiqued suggest otherwise.1997 October 2, Chris Doherty, “Re: Take Back the Night 1997”, in uw.general (Usenet), message-ID <EHFr1r.CpH@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca>:
4 more examples
- That is one of those stories that I call “anecdata”—these horror stories over which we try to construct theories about how something is or is not working in IP law and policy.2003, Justin Hughes, “Legal Pressures in Intellectual Property Law”, in Julie M. Esanu, Paul F. Uhlir, editors, The Role of Scientific and Technical Data in the Public Domain: Proceedings of a Symposium, Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, →ISBN, page 97:
- I have read interviews with people (yeah, I know, anecdata) who have said that they wanted an apology for a mistake being made and ended up going to court over it. And invariably winning.2005 July 18, Lindsay Endell, “Re: Roy Meadow”, in uk.misc (Usenet), message-ID <dbfuq1$29gg$1@godfrey.mcc.ac.uk>:
- Metcalfe notes the same general pattern, though he gives no anecdata to support his contention.2017, Kory Stamper, Word By Word, Vintage, published 2018, →ISBN, page 213:
- Student feedback overall suggested we were successful in requiring students to both “retrieve” and “connect” what they had learned in their first-semester bungo courses, and that they felt “motivated” to pursue further study. [...] Whatever the value of this “anecdata,” we are encouraged by students’ enthusiastic responses and their newfound confidence.2025 November 23, Marjorie Burge, Jeffrey Niedermaier, Pier Carlo Tommasi, “Contesting the “Classical,” Creating Communities: The “Intercollegiate Classical Japanese Poetry Contest” within the Landscape of 2020s North American Bungo Pedagogy”, in Japanese Language and Literature, →DOI, →ISSN, page 321:
- Related terms
- the plural of anecdote is not data, guesstimate