Exploring the value of service user involvement in data analysis: "our interpretation is about what lies below the surface"

In this article the process and outcomes of service user involvement in the analysis of data are discussed. The analysis formed part of a doctoral participatory research project, which involved researcher and service users working together. The focus of the research was on the experience and needs of service users with life limiting conditions including any influence on the experience produced by social factors. Service users with a range of life limiting conditions took part in the research. A separate group of service users affected by life limiting conditions formed the Service User Research Advisory Group (SURAG) that met 32 times over three years and was an integral part of the research. A novel and workable collaborative analysis approach is described along with the identification of similarities and differences between researcher and service user interpretations of data.