Both of the interns benefited from learning to plan and run research projects, right from learning how to develop good quantitative research questions through how to collect social media data and finally arriving at and present their conclusions in accessible ways. Neither had ever done so before, so it was a real learning experience!
The CSS team benefited from a close-up observation cambodia rcs data of how social science researchers learn to think and work in more computational ways.
We also benefited from having completely new collaborators that brought their own perspectives, interests and instincts. In all, we are delighted with how much everyone involved learned – not only about how to use social media data for social science research but also about how learning changes the way the learner approaches topics and understands new information.
Learning a new programming language: May Piskin on being a Q-Step intern
Headshot of May Piskin, a Q-Step internI was initially interested in applying for the Q-Step internship because I wanted to get some relevant, professional work experience for my CV, to increase my employability and make me stand out when applying for graduate positions. With my last year of university coming up, I also hoped that the internship would help me with my dissertation by improving my data and research skills. I was lucky enough to get accepted onto the scheme during my second-year summer holiday – this was during the Covid-19 pandemic, so I ended up doing the internship working remotely from home.