Rodriguez 1!

Neftali Rodriguez
Wilson
Writing 2
7 December 2016
WP2 Revision
When walking the streets of big cities such as Los Angeles, it is common to see many
homeless people. Over the years, the amount of homeless people has increased and if nothing is
done to fix this issue, homelessness will continue to grow and society will eventually be
unbothered by it. As homelessness becomes a worldwide issue, many academic disciplines have
taken an interest. Sociologists take a look at individuals social relationships to see the
differences between those who are homeless and those who are not. Psychiatrists, on the other
hand, examine if the chances of being mentally ill increase if an individual is homeless. These
different disciplines write down their findings in academic journals and monographs, each
paying special attention to characteristics important to them. Despite varying components such
as experimental tactics, use of data, and intended audiences, both use these characteristics in
attempting to more clearly understand the homeless epidemic.
Sociology stresses the importance of social relationships. This is true in the academic
journal, Social Capital, Homeless Young People and the Family, by Justin D. Barker in which
he conducts his study by interviewing and observing the relationships between homeless subjects
and their families. He argues that the lack of family as a source of social capital for homeless
youth is a central factor that contributes to young peoples homelessness (730). This statement
identifies his independent variable to be familial interactions. By identifying one probable cause

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to the epidemic, Barker is able to focus his observations in relation to that cause, in this case,
familial interactions. This is a constructive way to conduct a study because it allowed Barker to
further understand homelessness while connecting the experiment to yet another topic of interest,
social relationships.
Data within the discipline of sociology does not normally consist of any tactile, physical
evidence. Because they study human interactions, sociologists are not able to support their
claims with scientifically proven data. Therefore, this discipline must use alternative ways to
include data into their studies. Methods used by sociologists most commonly include
interviews, focus groups, genealogies, life histories and, most significantly participant
observation (Barker 733). These methods make up for the lack of physical methods and joining
one sociologists data with anothers make up strong, believable data. A sociologist can take the
data of another to support his claims and continue to expand on it by incorporating their own
observations and studies. Once a platform of various similar observations is made, it is given
credibility and can be used as evidence.
Audience is crucial to the discipline of sociology. Because sociology is applicable to
many people, findings in this disciple should be too. For example, Barker introduces an
important term, social capital, into his journal. Many may not know what this term means
which is why Barker goes on to explain that at the most broad level social capital refers to, and
signals the importance of participation in groups, sociality, family, and relationships in the
analysis of culture and society (731). By explaining the term, Barker opens his essay to a
broader audience allowing more people to know about a possible cause of homelessness.

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Psychiatrists approach experiments in a similar way as sociologists, yet also include other
tactics. They can take an interest in human behavior, but incorporate a medical point of view. In
the monograph Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illness by Russell K. Schutt and Stephen M.
Goldfinger, they conduct an experiment and assess both these perspectives in relation to
homelessness. Schutt and Goldfinger state that neurological deficits are associated with the
symptoms of severe mental illness (144) while also examining how these symptoms increase or
decrease when homeless people suffering from mental illness are provided with housing.
Ultimately, this experiment links these perspectives. In general psychiatrists have more
flexibility as to how they wish to go about doing an experiment. They have the freedom to
choose whether to examine a topic from a strictly medical perspective or incorporate another
perspective.
This same amount of freedom is available with respects to data. Psychiatrists are able to
perform more physical studies because they are doctors who deal with the mind. They are able to
take a look at symptoms, neurons and cells. Because of this the evidence used in their journals or
writings consist of experiments and concrete numbers. Schutt and Goldfinger use many graphs
(pgs 152-3, 169) and quantitative data. This qualitative data give psychiatrists credibility because
it can be proven scientifically. However, they too, like sociologists, have participants in their
studies. The participants had to meet certain guidelines to be considered mentally ill and be a part
of the study. These observational studies along with quantitative ones support Schutt and
Goldfingers argument and helps them develop a clearer understanding of homelessness.
The audience targeted by psychiatrists is relatively small. Oftentimes the audience of a
psychiatrist's piece of writing is fellow psychiatrists. In Schutt and Goldfingers monograph, this

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is evident through the tone, word choice, and terms used in their writing. The tone is formal and
the medical jargon is difficult to understand unless one is educated in psychiatry. For example,
Schutt and Goldfinger say patient with major depressive disorder had smaller neurons and
fewer glial cells in the prefrontal cortex that mediate between neurons and their
environment (144). The terms glial cell and prefrontal cortex would not make sense to a
general audience if they were to read this text. Therefore, the only ones capable of fully
understanding this sentence, along with the rest of the monograph, is other psychiatrists. Thus,
psychiatrists are the most benefited from these type of texts and they are able to further their
understanding of the topic at hand.
Overall, the sociologists and psychiatrists from the texts had one goal in mind: to
comprehend the homeless epidemic. They did this in their own unique ways, staying within the
characteristics of their discipline. When researching and/or writing in these disciplines one must
follow these characteristics to develop a clear understanding of a topic. They serve as a basis for
clarity and validity.

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Works Cited

Barker, Justin David. "Social Capital, Homeless Young People and the Family." Journal of Youth
Studies 15.6 (2012): 730-43. Web.
Schutt, Russell K., and Stephen M. Goldfinger. Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illness.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2011. Print.