criteria

Research

Standards used to judge, select, or evaluate something — plural of 'criterion'; in research design, criteria are set out before data collection so selection and evaluation are not quietly adjusted afterward to fit the results.

Sources

1. Merriam-Webster — criterion merriam-webster.com accessed 23 September 2026

Merriam-Webster defines a criterion as “a standard on which a judgment or decision may be based” or “a characterizing mark or trait”. Borrowed from Greek kritḗrion, from krī́nein, to separate, choose, decide or judge; first recorded 1622. On the usage question this entry exists to settle, the dictionary is even-handed: “Criteria is typically a plural noun… Its singular form is criterion, but evidence shows that criteria is frequently used as a singular as well as a plural.” In academic writing, keep the singular criterion.

Merriam-Webster is cited as the dictionary of record: where an entry defines a word rather than a position, a dictionary is the primary source for it. The research usage described above is this lexicon’s own reading.

Related terms

• Abbreviation
• Abstract
• Abstraction
• Academic Database
• Analysis
• Annotation

Rewritten from a truncated AJG archive entry, August 2026.