def METHOD_NAME(self, some_data, defaults):
    config = copy.deepcopy(defaults)
    if isinstance(some_data, Tuple):
        # dealing with data_list
        name, data = some_data
    else:
        # dealing with data_with_config
        name, data, new_config = some_data['name'], some_data['data'], some_data['config']
        config.update(new_config)
    return name, data, config