The phrase "a substitute for data" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing alternatives or replacements for data in various contexts, such as research, analysis, or decision-making.
Example: "In some cases, anecdotal evidence may serve as a substitute for data when quantitative information is unavailable."
Alternatives: "an alternative to data" or "a replacement for data".
One disadvantage of using vegetation data as a substitute for environmental data is the fact that extensive floristic sampling can usually only be carried out at a plot scale within limited geographical areas.
If you look at academic publications, people tend to say this is important data to think about but there aren't standards for how to interpret that data yet, not as a substitute for other data but as an element of an equation of what 'good' looks like.
They should not be used as a substitute for polling data.
Tools such as LiST are extremely useful for planning and providing illustrative results, but models are not a substitute for hard data if donors want a true measure of impact.
The lack of a complete and self consistent data set of all output metrics of interest from a single species, temperature and laboratory motivated the use of simulated outputs from one model as a substitute for measured data in the parameter fitting.
The use of geographic-level data as a substitute for individual level data initially emerged due to a lack of other relevant individual data in cancer surveillance systems, in that cancer registries are not providing individual socioeconomic data, such as income and, education.
Cross correlation studies showed that Ulysses solar wind data can be taken as a substitute for missing Cassini data.
Although not a substitute for food consumption data or urinary sodium analyses, these data provide a complementary approach to monitoring population level trends.
This buffer was a substitute for the true data in scenario 2 (assuming the true data were unknown).
