The Importance of Formal Internships

1. Where did you find the research article? Did experts in the field review it before it was published?

This was taken from a peer-reviewed academic journal – you do not need to add anything additional for this

2. Does the article have a stated research question or problem? That is, can you determine the focus of this author’s work?  If so, what is the stated research question or problem?

 Yes, there is a clear research question. The authors endeavored to investigate the influence that attending formal internships has on students’ perceptions regarding the importance of the character traits sought by employers.

3. Does the article describe the collection of data, or does it describe and synthesize other studies in which data were collected? 

The study describes the process of data collection whereby the researchers surveyed students who had participated in a formal program for an internship. They were thus interviewed just before the internship and soon after it. Employers were also interviewed, and they provided their responses which were also considered in the analysis of data.

4. Is the article logically organized and easy to follow? If yes, explain.  What could have been done to improve its organization?

Yes, the article’s organization is logical as it is done in section such as introduction, background information, a clear outline of the methodology being followed with the results and the discussion of those results afterward. That organization, therefore, provides a flow that enables one to follow the logic flow of how the research was conducted. The organization could, however, be made better by removing the tables that interrupt the follow and maybe presenting the tabulated data in an appendix.

5. Does the article contain a section that outlines and reviews previous studies on this topic (i.e., literature review)? In what ways is this previous work relevant to the research problem?

Yes, the study provides a review of previous studies through the exploration of the background information related to the research. By establishing the undisputed importance of internship to employment, the previous research sets a background on which the current research problem is explored as a focus for further investigation.

6. If the author explained procedures that were followed in the study, are these procedures clear enough that you could repeat the work and get similar results? What additional information might be helpful or essential for you to replicate the study?

The procedures that were used by the researchers are explained clearly with sufficient detail that makes it possible to replicate the study with relatively similar results. Additional information regarding how the researchers got in touch with the employers or supervisors for the study and afterward would facilitate better participant contact for data retrieval that would be necessary to replicate the results.

7. If data were collected, can you describe how they were collected and how they were analyzed? Explain your response. Do you agree with what was done? What additional things would you have done if you had been the researcher?

The data were collected through conducting interviews for the internship students as well as the employers. The data obtained from the interviews were analyzed mainly through the determination of the various measures of central tendency such as the mean, median, and standard deviation. The information was then tabulated according to the different categories that were investigated. If I were the researcher, I would also have included a section for open-ended questions and comments that would have allowed the respondents to provide any extra information whose scope may not have been covered in the questions posed during the interviews.

8. Do you agree with the interpretations of the results? Why or why not?

Yes, I agree with the interpretation of the results since they agree with information obtained from other previous studies. Additionally, the researchers employed proper research techniques in data collections and analysis which minimized possible errors and misinterpretations.

9. Finally, reflect on the entire article. What is, for you, most important? What do you find most interesting? What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of this article? Will you remember this article in the future?

The article is quite insightful as it provides research evidence for routinely recommended practices of internship, hence facilitates an understanding of the importance of the process. The thing I find most interesting is the evident difference in opinion before internship when compared to after the internship. It provides a sharp and interesting comparison of theoretical knowledge versus practical knowledge. One of the article’s strengths is that it provides a detailed exploration not only of current data but also that from previous studies which had lacked satisfactory exploration. The weakness is that the article compares data from different categories yet it is evident that some data may have been lost from one category to another as respondents participated while in only category but were untraceable after transitioning.

10. You are to do a write-up that would be appropriate to include in a literature review for a thesis/plan B/research proposal.

That means you describe the study and report out the results the author(s) found – that includes statistical significance.

You do not have to justify the statistical methodology.

The length should be appropriate for the use in a Lit Review (this would be one of many articles used in the chapter)

Green, et al. conducted an exploratory study that aimed to investigate the influence that attending formal internships has on students’ perceptions regarding the importance of the character traits sought by employers. Subsequently, the results indicated that a considerably large and statistically significant number of students consider having an internship experience as a crucial factor in recruitment by employers.

Works Cited

Green, B. P., et al. “An Exploratory Study of the Effect of Professional Internships on Students’ Perception of the Importance of Employment Traits.”Journal of Education for Business, vol. 86, no. 2, 2011, pp. 100-110, doi:10.1080/08832323.2010.480992.