Social Research Internships are now open
It is now time to enrol for SOC300 Internships in Social Research for 4 credit points in Semester 2, or for the summer vacation period (Nov-Feb).
Please enrol as soon as possible as we are now negotiating placements to commence in Semester Two. Enrolments after June 30 may not be assured of a placement.
Internships are designed to give you supervised experience in workplaces that develop your skills in social research. They are designed to support the transition between study and work by giving you ways of negotiating and understanding the culture of workplaces, and by helping you to reflect upon and then build upon your experience.
We will be offering placements across a range of the sectors that engage in social research. These include government departments, commercial social and market research agencies and organizations in the non-government sector including welfare-based agencies and trade unions. In last years offering of the course, there were 23 different workplaces.
What kind of work did students do?
Students completed research projects that included the production of background reports for work in the development of state government policy and the daily activity of non-government welfare organizations. Other tasks included general research support, production of literature reviews and desktop research, internet searches, basic quantitative data analysis and some project management,(project management included organizing appointments for in depth interviews and other such tasks.) Some (paid) telephone interviewing was also undertaken. Students involved in service delivery agencies participated in activities involving clients including workshops and in some cases, performing interviews, designing, conducting and analysing surveys.
Many students were working in a team environment, whilst others had more individually focussed projects .
What is the commitment that I have to make?
As you can probably already see, there will be considerable flexibility in organizing when and how your project will be undertaken. We ask you to allow between 100 and 120 hours over the semester, but we ask you to negotiate how this will be configured with your workplace. Some projects may take a day a week over the semester or part of it, while others may require more focused time, for example a couple of weeks in the break, or larger blocks of time that are negotiated between you and the organization. You need to be able to be flexible or to choose a project that fits with your schedule.
There will be an on-campus commitment as well. You will be asked to attend three workshops during the semester: One in the first week, one in the fourth week and another one in late November. The same workshop will run on Tuesday 6-8, Wednesday 3-5 and Thursday 10-12 so you should be able to find one to attend.
Assessment
Your University assessment will be based on completion of the placement, your attendance at the on-campus workshops, the completion of a reflective diary about your placement and a more focussed descriptive task about your project.
The project that you undertake in your workplace will be supervised and managed by the workplace. It will not be assessed by us.
How do I participate in the Course?
The prerequisites for SOC300 are SOC 234 and the completion of 40 Credit Points.
You need to enrol in the course by enrolling or submitting a change of program form as soon as possible.
To assist with allocating placements I would like you to prepare a short CV and send it to me. It should include some description of your areas of interest and expertise. I would especially like to know of any experience that you have had in the relevant area. For example you may have learnt how to do telephone interviews; you may have done volunteer work in an aged care hostel or helped children to read in your local school.
Please send me your CV as soon as possible. Please also feel free to contact me by email or phone if you want any more information.
Ms Heather Middleton
Director Internship Placement Program
Rm 507 C3B
Email: Heather.Middleton@scmp.mq.edu.au