This is encouraging.

Academics are stepping forward when they think their work is being misquoted by people on the political/religious right in the US. Video is an excellent medium for them to voice their concerns.

Truth Wins Out has started a website called respectmyresearch  where academics who see their work quoted for political/ideological spin can speak up, because often media doesn’t and can’t.

An example is  Dr. Kyle Pruett of Yale University who has objected to Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family quoting from his book; Fatherneed: Why Father Care Is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child.

Dobson quoted four words in Time Magazine last year. But it isn’t quoting that is upsetting researchers and professors, it is how their work is being spun.

Pruett, (like Dobson, a psychologist and son of a Protestant minister) wrote Dobson and objected to cherry picking.

Dobson got bellecoise (note he has been using the media; this rebuttal is in The Rocky Mountain News) Pruett had attempted to reach Dobson to dialogue, but received no response.

Particularly absurd was Pruett’s insistence that I never quote him again. Since when does a researcher or author have the right to determine how his or her work will be referenced? As a former academic myself, I’ve never seen anyone try to enforce that restriction. Has Pruett ever heard of the doctrine of “fair use?”

This flap leads us to ask why the professor reacted with such irritation to a minuscule four-word quote? My assumption is that he didn’t want to be identified, even remotely, with the defense of traditional marriage. That is the kiss of death in academic circles today.

Oh.

Soulforce is also joining with academics and organizations at Truth Wins Out and Respect My Research.

Social scientists and representatives from the American Psychiatric Association, American Counseling Association, American Psychological Association, and the National Association of Social Workers joined the call to review the reputable mainstream research on children raised by same-gender parents. They also described specific examples of how that research is distorted by James Dobson and others to justify discriminatory public policy and encouraged the media to fact-check such false claims in the future before they report them.

Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc of the University of British Columbia has had an opportunity to respond to Focus on the Family’s interpretation of her research. This site gives reseachers an opportunity to address their concerns about spin without having to stoop to responding to reactionary partisan attack. 
Perhaps this kind of site will help media begin to take back some responsibility for reporting intent and background more accurately. 

via: Talk2Action