Because behind every statistic is a person, a story and an experience.
I’m Mark Johnston — a qualitative psychology researcher, consultant, published author, student and someone who believes passionately that research should never lose sight of the people whose experiences make it possible.
I created Beyond the Data because I wanted a space to talk about the things that can sometimes get lost between academic papers, statistics, conferences and research findings: PEOPLE.
Numbers can tell us how many people experience something. They can identify patterns, demonstrate inequalities and show us where change might be needed. But numbers cannot always tell us what it actually feels like to live through those experiences.
That is where I believe lived experience matters.
My journey into research
My route into psychology and research hasn't necessarily been a conventional one.
Coming into higher education later in life has given me a different perspective on what research can — and perhaps should — be.
Over the past few years, I have become increasingly interested in lived experience research, particularly around health, neurological conditions, caring, neurodivergence, mental health and the psychosocial aspects of people's lives.
But I've also become fascinated by how we conduct research.
An interview or questionnaire might be the perfect way for one person to communicate their experience. For somebody else, it might not be.
People communicate through stories, photographs, drawings, objects, memories, metaphors, movement and countless other ways.
If we genuinely want to understand people's experiences, perhaps our research methods need to become flexible enough to accommodate that.
That question has become an important part of my work.
Why "Beyond the Data"?
The name represents something very simple. Data matters. But so does the person behind it.
A statistic about an unpaid carer doesn't tell you about the night they stayed awake worrying.
A diagnosis doesn't explain how somebody's identity might change afterwards.
A questionnaire score cannot necessarily capture the conversation somebody has with their family on the drive home from a hospital appointment.
And a research participant isn't simply "Participant 7".
They are a person who has trusted us with part of their life.
I believe researchers have a responsibility to respect that.
What you'll find here
Beyond the Data will be somewhere I can explore research without always being constrained by the conventions of academic writing.
I'll share ideas about psychology, health and lived experience research; reflections from my own research journey; discussions about creative and participatory research methods; thoughts about how research can become more inclusive; and conversations with people whose voices deserve to be heard.
There will also be room for things that don't fit neatly into traditional academic spaces.
Some posts may explore new research ideas. Others might reflect on something I've heard at a conference, read in a paper or learned from somebody with lived experience.
And occasionally, I may ask questions for which I don't yet have an answer.
That's part of research too.
Creating conversations, not just publications
Ultimately, I don't want Beyond the Data simply to be somewhere I publish things.
I'd like it to become somewhere that starts conversations.
Between researchers and participants.
Between universities and communities.
Between professionals and people with lived experience.
And between research evidence and the messy, complicated reality of people's everyday lives.
Over time, I hope to expand Beyond the Data beyond written blogs. There is enormous potential for conversations, interviews, videos and perhaps eventually a podcast where researchers, practitioners and people with lived experience can sit alongside one another rather than being placed into separate boxes.
Because some of the most important knowledge we have doesn't begin in a university.
It begins with someone's experience.
So this is the beginning of Beyond the Data.
I don't know exactly where it will lead yet — and I think that's part of what makes it exciting.
But wherever it goes, one principle will remain at its heart:
Look at the evidence. Understand the research. But never forget the person behind the data.
Welcome to Beyond the Data.
Mark Johnston
