Human Problems
Your potential internship is full of questions! Consider these two areas. First, consider the workings of your potential agency you wrote about earlier in the semester. What needs doing? What problems are unaddressed? Is there a population that is underserved by your agency? How are services provided? Second, consider the broader field. What does the current literature say about the human problem(s) addressed by your agency? What are the newest interventions or debates? A word of caution: It is easy to generate broad, sweeping questions. Most folks start off with big questions (How can we reduce the number of sexual assault victims in Alamance County?). It is fine to start big. However, your question will be more meaningful and manageable if you ultimately narrow your question to a smaller more focused question. For example, how can this agency improve outreach to the adult Spanish speaking population of Burlington? is a better question since it specifically identifies an intervention (outreach) a population (Spanish speaking) within a geographic area (Burlington). Thirdly, Relevance and justification: Explain why your question is important. Discuss the relevance of your question to clients and to the community. In this section, be sure to note who is affected by your question. Fourthly, Analysis: This section contains an analysis of the gathered information. You will need to include a minimum of four scholarly peer-reviewed sources that address your question. You should also include information (properly cited, of course) from other sources such as key informant interviews. Synthesize the information you have gathered into a statement that reflects accurately the current knowledge on this topic, however disparate that may be. Fifthly, Action plan: Describe in this section how you and other professionals would proceed in your work based on this information. Support your position. Finally, What else we need to know: Conclude with an analysis of what else you need to know in order to answer your question with greater confidence
