Everyday research at IParl: impressions of our intern

Sarah Ribbert reports on her internship at IParl, which she completed from April to June 2018:

I started my internship at the Institute for Parliamentary Research (IParl) in April 2018 with the intention of gaining an in-depth insight into political science research. As it turned out - a stroke of luck. Not only was it a very friendly and young team, but during the two and a half months I had the opportunity to contribute to the IParl's research project in a variety of ways. I was involved in preparing and analysing the data as well as writing up and presenting individual results. Among other things, I learnt about the approach to research questions, the data-based verification of hypotheses and derivation of findings and the sometimes very time-consuming process of writing scientific publications - in short, everyday research practice.

Of course, this also included attending conferences to pass on the research findings to academics and interested citizens. I was also given the opportunity to help organise a workshop on the topic of populism and social media, which I found to be a very interesting and enriching experience. One of the highlights of my internship was certainly the visit to the Bundestag with the IParl team, where the findings of the IParl study were presented at the DVParl Forum.

During my internship, I was also able to independently pursue my own small project based on available primary data and take part in seminars, lectures and an excursion to Magdeburg thanks to the teaching activities of IParl employees at Martin Luther University in Halle. The trip to the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt in particular broadened my knowledge of party and parliamentary research.

I found the rather small size of IParl, with a total of 7 employees, to be pleasant as I was able to settle in so quickly. The relaxed atmosphere in the team and the little jokes made many a working day fly by and meant that I always felt at ease. Overall, I can describe my internship as a very positive and valuable experience that I can only recommend to anyone with an interest in parliamentarianism and political science research!