Drawing on current critical academic responses to the rise of data and big data, this article posits that data operates on at least two levels; as thing and as ideology. Though inextricable in practice, we can separate these concepts momentarily to begin to identify how quite different meanings might be operating in our theoretical frameworks, research design, and everyday activities. Once these dual levels are recognized – a process that requires conscious and critical self-reflexivity – one can more strategically frame and use the interpretation of data in multiple and nuanced ways, to add layers of meaning or augment the analytical processes