Research Paper on Internships: Necessity or Choice? Examining Benefits & Drawbacks

An internship is a necessity for every student. It is considered that students who have undergone internship programs have a high chance of being considered in job opportunities. Placement is regarded as a valuable opportunity in which learners gain relevant experience in their specific fields of study. Typically unpaid internship has both positive and negative impacts on student's attitude towards career choices. Even though the employment rates for both paid and unpaid internship students are minimal, it is believed that paid internship results in excellent employment outcomes. An unpaid internship is viewed to be a valuable opportunity for one to get his/her foot in the door and network, which will help the student attain relevant experience before seeking job opportunities.

In contrast, scholars, interns, policymakers have complained of the negative impacts associated with unpaid internships (Redmond & Devitt, 2008). In the Northern American, placement is considered to be the gate pass towards securing job opportunities; students must undergo a minimum of six months internship in government or recognized institutions. Most organizations, therefore, consider placement as mandatory for MSW students to help them transit from school to employment. In most cases, organizations do not pay for these internship programs. However, the unpaid internship program has adverse impacts on MSW student's attitudes towards career choice.

Research Question

What is the impact of unpaid internships on the MSW students' attitude towards career choice?

The Study Approach

The study will use a mixed-method approach, of both quantitative and qualitative techniques, in answering the research question. The researcher will use a quantitative approach in the collection of primary data as well as data analysis (Ranganathan, 2019). By use of a quantitative method, the study will be able to collect and effectively analyze data using the relevant statistical tools. The study will use questionnaires as a method of data collection. Questions will be administered to at least 200 MSW students. The study will also employ the use of both open and closed-ended questions. The technique will help in facilitating the measurements of variables through the use of statistical and mathematical analysis. This method will be important in determining the impact of unpaid internships on the MSW students' attitudes towards career choice.

The study will use a qualitative approach to explain various observations as per the student responses. This approach will be able to give an in-depth insight into the research question. The study will involve a group of a few selected students in which specific questionnaires will be administered. The mixed-method technique will help the investigation in evaluating quantitative and qualitative data in investigating the problem at hand. The study will involve MSW students who have undergone various internships as the key stakeholders; this is because they are the persons who will convey the relevant information as per the study.

Sample Population and Sampling Frame

It will be difficult for the study to use the entire population, hence the study will use a total of 250 respondents. The respondents will comprise of students in various universities who have had undergone some internship programs. The sampling frame of the study will specifically include MSW students who are in their second or final year of research and have had experienced at least two unpaid internships.

Sample Recruitment

The study will use both random and non-random sampling techniques. The students will be sampled by way of the judgmental non-sampling method, while members of the faculty of MSW will be tested by the use of a random sampling technique. The study will use the random sampling technique because it is easy, and every member will have a chance of being included in the sample. The convenient non-sampling method will be essential in obtaining specific information from the respondent.

Methods of Data Collection

The research will use both primary and secondary sources of data. Secondary data will be obtained from textbooks, journals, bibliographies, and the internet and among other reviewed works. Primary is raw data that will be collected by the use of questionnaires (Baxter, 2008). Questions to be used in the study will be taken from the literature review, the faculty of MSW, and the students. The study will employ the use of questionnaires because it is a secure and cost-effective method of data collection. It will also be easy to collect both numeric and non-numeric information through the use of both open and closed-ended questions. The IRB (Institutional Review Board) consent will be sent to various universities two months before the research is conducted. The study will hence administer the questionnaires to the selected sampling frame for responses. Once the data has been collected, it will be coded, cleaned, organized, and stored in Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets.

Measures

The quantitative dependent variable of the study will be the MSW students' attitude, which will be measured by an ordinal scale of say (0-5), the independent quantitative variable will be the unpaid internship, which will be determined by use of nominal measurements. The above measurements will be reliable and valid for the study. The independent variable will be structured as (YES = 1, NO = 0).

Data Analysis

After the data has been coded and stored in Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet, Statistical analysis will be conducted using a statistical package (SPSS). Data will be analyzed using means, standard deviations, percentages, frequency tables, histograms, and t-tests. The independent Samples t-Test, will be used to compare ways to determine the specific mean differences (Agresti, 2018).

Limitations of the Study

• The following are some of the limitations of the study.
• The responses were limited to some participants
• The populations were limited to few universities
• More time was spent feeling the questionnaires
• The study was expensive
• The universities were a bit reluctant to give feedback concerning the consent of conducting the research.

Findings

The results will be based on various objectives and the research questions of the study. The findings will be reported in the form of graphs, charts, frequency tables, contingency tables, descriptive statistics, regression models, and ANOVA tables. In the end, the researcher will then give a summary of the findings and provide an in-depth discussion of the same.

Importance of the Study

The study will be essential to fill the gaps, as revealed in the literature review. The respondents will be able to give an insight into their perceptions towards working for an unpaid internship. The study will be able to enlighten employers that a paid internship is a motivation towards employment outcomes. The study will hence help employees to consider giving students some stipends during the internship period. The study will also provide more insight into that unpaid, and paid internship has no relationship with the rate of employment.

Ethical Issues

Based on the literature review, the researcher identified some critical core values and ethics, such as social justice, dignity, and individual worth, integrity, competence, and the importance of human relationships that ought to be considered in the study. The study does not reflect some of these core values and ethics, specifically in sampling recruitment and the target population. In such, the sampling recruitment technique is a bit biased and may not provide the intended results. The population does not cover a broad target of respondents to be included in the study.

References

Agresti, A. (2018). An introduction to categorical data analysis. John Wiley & Sons.

Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The qualitative report, 13(4), 544-559. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joy_Russell/post/Is_there_a_clear_explanation_or_process_for_determining_the_unit_of_analysis_in_a_case_study/attachment/59d64027c49f478072eaa1a4/AS:273785507254276@1442286959153/download/Baxter_Qual+Case+Study+Method.pdf.

Ranganathan, P. (2019). Understanding Research Study Designs. Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine: Peer-reviewed, Official Publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine, 23(Suppl 4), S305.

Redmond, B., Guerin, S., & Devitt, C. (2008). Attitudes, perceptions and concerns of student social workers: First two years of a longitudinal study. Social Work Education, 27(8), 868-882.