Sociology Summer Internship – Weddings, Marriage and Commitment.

By Emily Garbutt

My experience of working in a research environment collaboratively with Dr Julia Carter has provided me with essential transferrable skills to future employability opportunities. The internship has provided me with knowledge of the research area in families and relationships which I hope to further dedicate study to a Masters level in the future. Our project has focused on weddings, marriage and commitment and ultimately seeks to question why people choose to have a wedding and the significance of the wedding to the couple’s relationship and subsequent marriage. The project has given me the ability to improve my literature scoping skills at a post-graduate level, as well as developing my skills in data analysis and ability to write at a high academic level. Working alongside Dr Carter, I have assisted in the design and production of the research instruments required to gather data through semi-structured interviews. Furthermore, the internship has required I design and create a final report, a briefing paper and a research seminar in significance to the dissemination of our findings to share with Dr Mariya Stoilova and colleagues at OnePlusOne and our university department.

Dr Julia Carter has been supportive and encouraging in my future employment opportunities which has given me the confidence to apply for a Masters degree next year. Furthermore, following the internship Dr Carter offered the opportunity to become involved in a project conducted by the Sociology department and North Kent Women’s Aid.

'My experience of working in a research environment has provided me with essential transferrable skills to future employability opportunities. The project has given me the ability to improve my literature scoping skills at a postgraduate level, as well as developing my skills in data analysis and ability to write at a high academic level' 

Emily’s internship involved researching weddings, marriage and commitment. Emily’s projected was directed by Dr Julia Carter , a recognised expert in this area. A central focus of the project concerned factors that influence people’s choices about weddings.

Emily Garbut's research poster