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Blogg ⅓ Research Assisstant Internship VT 2026

26 April

Imperfections sometimes can lead us to perfect outcomes. For the last few weeks, I have been working on finding interview persons for my field study as a research assistant. As time has gone on, I have had to reassess this project as the work has not been fruitful, and finally, I have had to realize that I have reached a dead end within the time constraints of this course. Instead of working on finding multiple interview persons from different companies, I am now working to get more interviews with people at one of the companies, an auction-based platform I have already been in touch with, to create more of a case study.

29 June 

Everything is a remix. From previous work, new work is created. Collaboration, in between people and across time, passing information from human to human, is how knowledge is created. 

I am currently working on a case study about a second-hand platform, where this theme comes up again and again. What is good collaboration within a team? Within an organization? How can people work together to nurture and develop knowledge to benefit this organization? 

For the last few weeks my focus has been on analyzing interview materials that I have collected on this project. My conversations with company representatives tell me that within their company culture, collaboration is defined by openness and allowing team members to make mistakes. Everyone is encouraged to experiment, and to try things that might not work out in the end. This is seen as a strength across the team, having a culture of collaboration that goes beyond clear communication, specifically encouraging the process of trying and failing, and trying again. Seeing how the team works together has made me have new insights into how I can develop within my own work. 

Specifically, working on this case study, I am learning to practice a qualitative research process, constantly moving in-between my collected material and available academic literature, to develop my understanding of themes that I have identified. I am excited to be able to share more of the process and especially the results moving forward.