Social work graduate sees dissertation published in major journal
20 November 2024
A Cardiff University Social Work (MA) graduate has had her dissertation research on media portrayals of social work published in the UK’s leading social work journal.
The British Journal of Social Work has published Jess Worthington’s research, examining how newspapers report on social work.
The publishing of her master’s dissertation highlights the significance of Jess’s work and represents an unusual accomplishment for a student.
Jess said, “My work explored whether the political stance of a newspaper affected how it reported on social work issues."
"My findings were that [the media] did impact on the way social work was reported for the newspapers we looked at."
“Right-leaning newspapers had significantly more negative mentions of social workers than left-leaning ones, and left-leaning newspapers had significantly more positive mentions than right-leaning ones.
“The British Association of Social Workers published guidelines for the media in 2022, and I hope that the more this issue is discussed, the more change can come from it.”
The study, comprising analysis of almost 250 articles, suggests that media portrayals can shape public trust in social work.
Certain narratives may contribute to a blame culture surrounding the profession.
Professor Jonathan Scourfield, who co-authored the journal article with Jess, said:
Jess did a piece of original research for her dissertation that was well worth publishing for a wider audience. It’s great to see it appear in the premier British social work journal.
Social Work (MA) programme leader Professor David Wilkins said:
It’s a privilege to see Jess’s outstanding dissertation reach publication. Her success reflects the ambitions we have for all our brilliant students: to make a meaningful impact in social work.
Jess added, “I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who had the confidence in me and who helped me to get it published.
“I’m really proud that I got my dissertation research to a place where it could be published, with support from one of the University lecturers.”