The hidden depths of data…

By Amy Wizard Ponter

Data is not dull.

Data is also not necessarily what you think.

Well, it is not always what many people may think.

One hears the word and many of us may switch off or misunderstand; others may immediately feel worry or associate data with something negative. There is always seemingly something connected to data which we need to steer clear of or approach with caution. Perhaps even to avoid altogether.

We exist in a world where data is the subject of corruption or to being stolen. We hear more often about data breaches by bad actors or the compromising of data quality or legitimacy through other means. There is so much which can either go wrong with data or indeed be done wrong to data.

Yet, in parallel, knowing the above, we seem to share more and more of our data than ever before. Look at the ever present big tech companies, determined to harvest as much information as they can about each of us. Unwittingly, there are those amongst us who share it all, as if confiding in an intimate friend. We know only too well the risk here with the powerful algorithms and social media. Data is money - at so many levels and in so many layers.

Some of us do not join the dots between all the aspects to concern us and the aspects which we see as an advantage to us…even if they are not. The strange reality of fear combined with over sharing in the same data ‘space.’ A curious paradox.

Data is complicated.

Yet, data is also a force for good.

It can absolutely be key to so many positive things. Even if we commonly hear about data through the news - reporting on a threat to it, or the removal of it, or about access granted where it should not have been…

The reality is that data is everywhere. It is much more than may be reported on. The negative connotations are not therefore perhaps altogether justified. As data is key to so many wonderful things:

Data is detail. It can be facts, figures, numbers, statistics.

It can be a graph, a table, a piece of information.

It is something important – a piece of something which is informative. Or, more accurately, it is information which, alongside several other pieces of information, we use to convey something greater. To discern a meaning. Datum is one thing, data is many. Collectively with data being a plural, it is from this that where key decisions are made and patterns are sought in aiding to make said decisions. Data helps reasoning – that is the philosophy.

And there is something interesting… data could be seen as numbers, for example. So, how does philosophy come into it? How can something which may be all about information, actually be intrinsically linked to philosophy?

That is where the truth of the importance of data can be seen. For data may very well be a fact or a figure. Yet it is also should be a truth. A reality. Something alive and tangible. The nature of data has an impact on all of us in so many complex and fascinating ways. It influences what happens around us – key decisions that are made for us and what happens to us.

Data is quantitative; data is qualitative.

Quantitative data is numerical. It enables a measurement. It is mathematical, allowing for statistics or analysis. It is key to pattern identification. Core to investigation and interpretation. It is a key part of research and also key to research.

Qualitative data is not a number. It remains informative, but more descriptive. More human, perhaps. It enables insights into feelings. Into emotions. The unearthing of ideas, understanding. Descriptions. Concepts. It can help with that unending question of ‘why?’

Data is therefore so many things and yet, it is still data. It is so much more than we can really comprehend. Yet, in knowing it and collecting it, observing it and exploring, we paradoxically seek to comprehend something better. Whatever that ‘something’ may be. Through the sea of data droplets, we wish to know the ocean.

And therein is a truth that data is in you. Perhaps, arguably, it is you. Both human and not. In all your details, all your inner workings, your thoughts, your feelings, your body, your heart, your brain. Details of you and details about you.

Data is all around us. The idea is that we capture it to then lead to meaning, discovery, exploration and evolution. Without it, we cannot progress.

And herein lies the importance for health. Without data, how can we make inroads in helping all of us? How could we find new treatments or cures without it? How can we learn how to make things better? How can we prevent, or successfully treat? How can we improve life experience of those with this condition, or that diagnosis?

How could we do any of that without all of us being a collective part of fundamentally important data collection for health and healthcare research?

Pivotal.

So, the more we can all share our information willingly and openly, the better outcomes will be. For you and for others. For society as a whole. Both domestically and internationally.

Be encouraged to let your data be known! In the safer spaces where it will be used for good. There are countless ways and means out there for this! Know that if you share it, it matters. It makes a difference in making essential discoveries in healthcare. Alongside so many other areas of paramount importance to us all, whether we are aware or not.

We cannot grow and change positively without data. We cannot learn and improve without it. Change is inevitable, so if collectively we can harness data for the greater good, then change can actually mean better lives for all of us.

If we are all droplets in the human ocean, then let’s join those data droplets we are to unearth the mysteries of our ocean together.

Data really is so much more than you think.

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About the author

Always considered quirky by default, Amy WP is a late diagnosed, rather complicated and messy autistic! She also has a complex presentation of mental and physical health conditions therefore tries to harness the experience of these to help and speak for others as much as she can. She is committed to co-production, lived experience advisory work and works with a wide range of organisations - the NHS, charities, universities and many more besides. The work is wide ranging - anything from analysis, training and commenting on outputs to blogging, writing articles and poetry, creating campaigns and assisting with research.

Having been involved in work related to data from a lived experience advisory perspective, Amy has developed interest in this area and has delved into various different projects from varying angles and disciplines, leading to the discovery of DSxHE! She has been so impressed with the unique nature and approach to health equity that DSxHE has and has therefore been keen to get more involved. Data is amazing after all!

She wishes to make any meaningful difference she is able to for others- advocating for and driving change to make people’s lives better.