Silence and inclusion issues faced during internship: Outlining a research design and methodology

Internships are important transitional experiences linking academic study with professional practice. At the same time, interns are navigating complex organizational contexts where issues of inclusion and the issue of silence in organizations can have meaningful impacts on intern development and well-being. This paper will provide the research design, methods, and some initial insights from an ongoing study on the challenges of silence and inclusion currently being experienced by interns. Through a review of literature in organizational behavior, social psychology and human resource management, we develop a holistic methodology to explore how aspects of power differences, psychological safety, and perceived organizational justice contribute to the intern's decision to silence their voice and/or experience exclusion. The research is a work in progress and is discussed in this paper as conceptual framework, research questions, and the qualitative-dominant, mixed-methods research design for data collection and analysis. Future publications based on completing the study will present the full findings and conclusions of the study for organizations, educational institutions, and interns to foster more inclusive and supportive psychologically safe internships and internship experiences.