def check_data(cls, name, dims, is_unstructured):
        """
        A validation method for the data shape

        The default method does nothing and should be subclassed to validate
        the results. If the plotter accepts a :class:`InteractiveList`, it
        should accept a list for name and dims

        Parameters
        ----------
        name: str or list of str
            The variable name(s) of the data
        dims: list of str or list of lists of str
            The dimension name(s) of the data
        is_unstructured: bool or list of bool
            True if the corresponding array is unstructured

        Returns
        -------
        list of bool or None
            True, if everything is okay, False in case of a serious error,
            None if it is intermediate. Each object in this list corresponds to
            one in the given `name`
        list of str
            The message giving more information on the reason. Each object in
            this list corresponds to one in the given `name`"""
        if isinstance(name, six.string_types):
            name = [name]
            dims = [dims]
            is_unstructured = [is_unstructured]
        N = len(name)
        if len(dims) != N or len(is_unstructured) != N:
            return [False] * N, [
                'Number of provided names (%i) and dimensions '
                '(%i) or unstructured information (%i) are not the same' % (
                    N, len(dims), len(is_unstructured))] * N
        return [True] * N, [''] * N