A couple of weeks ago Social Work Helper’s founding editor, Deona Hooper, published a response to an article that appeared on Social Justice Solutions, and you can read it here. What follows is my response to a post in the SWH Facebook forum. I was dismayed by the tone of the comments to the article and how no one was backing up what they were saying with facts. Below is me pleading with commenters to back what they say in professional forums with reliable sources.
I am disappointed that no one here is backing up what they are saying with sources. In fact few of you seem to be engaging in an intelligent and professional discussion on this topic. I realize that many commenting may not be social workers or policy analyst but for those that are, what gives? As social workers we need to back up what we advocate for with facts (evidence based practice) not our feelings.
Feelings aside, let’s talk facts. The author of the original article (Justin Nutt) is supporting policies that are not backed up by research. At least one of his statements is calling for the violation of peoples civil rights simply because they are poor which is most certainly not in keeping with social work ethics and values.
Voter ID laws: There are only a tiny number of actual voter fraud cases in the US. However, far more people are negatively affected by voter id laws (source). See that. I just included a link to a reliable source to back up my statement.
Reverse racism (homophobia, sexism, etc., etc.) is not a real thing. There are a million articles about this topic. If you are a social worker you should have read a few. Racism is institutional. In the United States if you are white, protestant, and a heterosexual man you have privilege. In fact you have a ton of privilege, because the institutions in this county were built for your benefit.
Hepshiba’s Pad. (2010, July 15). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/07/15/884649/-Why-there-s-no-such-thing-as-Reverse-Racism
Fish, S. (1993, November 01). Reverse racism, or how the pot got to call the kettle black. The Atlantic, Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1993/11/reverse-racism-or-how-the-pot-got-to-call-the-kettle-black/304638/
Follow this blog http://sociolab.tumblr.com/ . It is run by a graduate student majoring in applied sociology. There are links to a lot of resources covering sexism, homophobia, hetrosexism, and racism. You will learn a lot from the posts.
“I believe guns reduce crime rather than increase it, and I sleep very well with a .45 in my night stand.” Except we have studies that disprove this view point.
Pinsky, S. (2014, February 22). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://socialworker4change.wordpress.com/2014/02/22/gun-control-policy-what-we-dont-know-can-kill-us/
Dahlberg, L. L. (2004). Guns in the home and risk of a violent death in the home: Findings from a national study. American Journal of Epidemiology,160(10), 929-936. Retrieved from http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/160/10/929.full
Gilson, D. (2013, January 31). 10 pro-gun myths, shot down. Mother Jones, Retrieved from http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/pro-gun-myths-fact-check
Drug testing welfare recipients: In this section of his article Justin is advocating for the government to violate welfare recipient’s constitutional rights. Forced drug tests without reasonable suspicion is an illegal search and seizure under the 4th amendment. The courts have ruled against mandatory drug test for welfare recipients.
Williamson, J. (2014, January 02). [Web log message]. Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform-racial-justice/florida-cannot-drug-test-people-simply-because-theyre-poor
ACLU. (2013, December 31). Victory for privacy as federal court’s final order bars law requiring tanf applicants submit to suspicionless drug tests. Retrieved from http://aclufl.org/2013/12/31/victory-for-privacy-as-federal-courts-final-order-bars-law-requiring-tanf-applicants-submit-to-suspicionless-drug-tests/
The main point I wanted to make in this post is that we are social scientists commenting in a professional social work forum. Wishy-washy comments like “both sides have a point” and “let’s agree to disagree” have no place. Be better than that.
I was actually pretty content with Deona’s article simply because they are things taught in social work school, and as a social work site, people should know most of these things already or they should go back to school.
LOVE it Rachel. It is disheartening when social workers and people in general start making statements that they pulled out of thin air. Facts are certainly relevant here.
When you call out another professional by name and accuse them of poor thought and not having fully fleshed out research, you really should make sure you are not guilty of the same thing. Rachel West- Be better than that. 🙂
Rachel- you did not link to a reliable source. If you bother to read into your sources you will read IN THE ABSTRACT that the study I referred to admitted correlation is not causation. You are dishonest, and unprofessional..
Your links regarding racism– OPINION pieces, NOT studies. Dishonest on your part.
Oxford Study on guns- Correlation, a SURVEY study if you read it.
Mother Jones– I discussed that- read the links within the article. They lead to the true nature- and Mother Jones is as partisan as Fox.
The first gun link NOT a study- OPINION piece. And NONE of them refuted Justin’s claim about crime.
Voter ID- even you admit some fraud occurs. Given how close elections can be, it is a valid concern. This is a values issue, not a study one- you need ID to get benefits, drive, get tax refunds, etc– this a reason for ID outreach. If you can’t get ID, you honestly shouldn’t vote- I only want able minded people voting. That can upset you- but that’s values issue– I believe as a society functions better with functional voters. Help people become functional, don’t lower the bar.
Your links to racism-related topics are NOT studies- they are OPINION pieces. Dishonest on your part.
Your first gun link– OPINION piece NOT study.
Mother Jones- correlative piece, per the abstracts within the article if you bother to link past Mother Jones- a publication as partisan as Fox, btw.
Oxford link – Correlation SURVEY. Not a causative study. May as well as social worker cause poverty because if the more social service agencies are in a neighbhorhoood the worse off it is– my goodness if you have a social worker living in a home the income tends to be lower! See how those work?
Having worked in corrections and child welfare for close to twenty years- drug testing welfare recipients is a valid clinical concern. Enabling addiction via free money is devastating to addict and families. Far better to test and require treatment. If you don’t comply, kids need to be somewhere safe. I’ve removed too many kids from parents selling their food stamps while kids go hungry. Don’t need a study to tell me what I do and see day in and day out. That’s the difference between micro and macro too often– macro folks read opinion pieces and believe they know better- micro people work right in the field and see the real truth. Is that why Justin cannot post here? I’ve been PMing him- I certainly hope you did not block him to prevent rebuttal.
I say this all the time. We all have emotional appeals, but anyone who is going to flaunt their degrees, whether MSW, MPH, MBA, MA/Ph.D. in Soc., etc., you have to be able to make your argument credible with evidence, not faux prestige, anecdotes, and elite titles. Thanks Rachel.
Just a quick word: SJS is not strictly a social work site, we are news and media org run by social workers. We cover a wide range of topics that span many disciplines and have professional experts from many of those disciplines. Please try to be accurate, misinformation is a killer as you have been so kind to point out. 😉
Do yourself a favor and google “causes of school shootings” not news just a google search. Reason that socialjusticesolutions.org article is so high is the fact it is used in damn near every training related to school shootings.
I realize you were not talking about academic papers, but you called for research and just because it is on the internet doesn’t mean it is true. And the ACLU is not known for unbiased reports.
No he is not one of the most respected because he writes for a social work site. He I say he is one of the most respected because what he writes for that socialjusticesolutions.org is used in training people. You want to attack how he feels and what he believes. I am a Catholic do you want me to present a research article that shows that God exists? You won’t get one for the simple fact there is not one it is my personal beliefs. You are proving the point he is making here, left or right ACCEPTANCE is a must.
Daniel, good luck on your capstone.
Jame I was’t talking about academic papers. BTW online source are ok if they are from a reliable source. Most think tanks and government organizations post briefings and stats online that are totally useable in academic papers.
They are right James. The ACLU is respected and reputable.
Because he is a social worker writing for a social work site.
Uggh…the other thing..please read more deeply into your links. Correlation is NOT causation– Mother Jones article is FULL of links to correlative “surveys”- one even admits up front it’s not to be mistaken for causation. It’s far more honest to voice opionion without link than to voice opinion and link to misleading studies as if they were fact.
All or nothing logical fallacy. Just because studies prove white privelege exists does not disprove that other ethnic groups cannot discriminate against white. One only has to read current news and world politics to know tribalism is as old as humanity. I’d love to see how someone would get the grants in today’s climate from a neutral source to study black on white hate- maybe Heritage would fund? But no one would believe them anymore than I would believe Mother Jones! If one looks at crime stats state wide- gun control has NOTHING to do with crime rates, either way. It may not decrease it, but it certainly doesn’t increase it. Accidents, sure- after all, you can’t even have a hammer accident if you don’t own a hammer. But compare it to auto deaths or slipping in bathtub- that is more accurate. This is a misuse of research guised as a personal attack.
Rachel, I applaud you for a professional and critically educated post! Stacy
Sharing my thoughts and opinions…. Not trying to argue or debate. I do think online sources can be dangerous and lead to misinformation. That’s all.
Cannot edit- last line should have read “This is a misuse of research- a personal attack guised as a reference to science.”
Thanks James! I was being silly with my OP, but you guys are raising a very good point. I’m currently in the middle of my capstone experience, so yes, finding and using reputable sources without some sort of bias can be a bit of a challenge. Even the text books are biased to a degree.
Rachel West sadly the ACLU and Social Worker 4 Change are not respected or reputable sources either. No online source is accepted in a research paper unless it is an online journal. I would hope that if you have been in the field long you would have realized that the goal of writing is not finding article that support your point, but looking at the articles and finding out what is right.
So because he has a belief about something he needs facts to back up that belief? So please explain this to me how do your “facts” hold more weight than a 1000 “reliable” sources that would say that gun ownership reduces crime? No offense, but the ACLU is not a really big research organization. Try looking at studies by universities
http://people.duke.edu/~gnsmith/articles/myths.htm
I can’t post the link because it won’t let anyone read it (login required) check the Havard study that proves gun control is counter productive.
You ask for facts to support beliefs then use online sources and biased studies conducted by those with an agenda to support your own beliefs.
I am a liberal, but I am also a realist which means I look at both sides and the facts that are used to understand what reality is. What you seem to be missing is the fact that Justin Nutt is one of the most respected authors in fields such as domestic violence and school shootings. Your attack shows not that he is wrong, but shows that you are narrow minded.
It’s frightening to me that this article is even necessary. It’s even MORE frightening (and more that a little saddening) that I’ve personally heard some of this garbage from Social Workers.
“: Dear Social Workers: Please Provide Reliable Sources … – http://t.co/L9pjBHqaO1 #news #socialwork #swhelper PLEASE!
“: Dear Social Workers: Please Provide Reliable Sources … – http://t.co/L9pjBHqaO1 @LoveDrNutt http://t.co/5NLblnGXVL”
Terri I am confused by why you believe an article written by a professor is not a reliable source. Plus if you looked at the blog I mentioned you would see the student is linking and quoting from reliable sources that include peer reviewed studies. So it is not just that students opinions and ramblings. You comment is leading me to believe that you did not look at any of the sources I shared. Come on, most of what I cited are studies or articles from trustworthy sources. Do not be so dismissive of blogs. If the person writing them is a qualified expert that carries weight. So I consider a blog post written by a someone with qualifications and expertise in that area to be a reliable source.
If it was from a reliable news source or journal then yes. It counts.
Blogs and newspaper articles are not scientific evidence. Peer reviewed journals and evidence based research are reliable sources. Just because someone who is a graduate student majoring in applied psychology writes a blog doesn’t mean the research is reliable. Another thing social workers need to be very aware of is using internet sources. Anyone can write a blog and newspaper writers are not using peer reviewed research. You would need to track down their sources and check the reliability of those. We all need to be very careful to not search out sources that support what we think but to use very reliable research that is backed up with evidence and holds up to professional standards. Of course we are all entitled to our opinions and to write blogs etc. but do not present them as solid evidence based information because it hampers reliable information being relayed that will truly advance the profession and help people. We should let the research speak to us about what has been studied and proven to be true and helpful and what outcomes it produces so we can bring those to our daily work with people who are relying on us to be professional.
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Aw man, you mean I read it on FB doesn’t count??
. .@MiamiHerald hope you have met. Expose on child death in Florida. Strike while the iron is hot.http://t.co/RfF6VdA27X