I believe the parent was trying to say that the information provided is anecdotal, and that they would prefer hard data. They were doing this in an exasperated

I believe the parent was trying to say that the information provided is anecdotal, and that they would prefer hard data. They were doing this in an exasperated tone--the full version of their expression would be some version of "If that isn't hard data, I don't know what is!", and is meant ironically in this context.