‘A diamond or a Stone? Using Autoethnography to Make Sense of My Industrial Psychology Internship’ presents an unconventional qualitative research genre, autoethnography, which is not commonly found in qualitative circles, and is rarely used by South African researchers, or by researchers in the South African social science or industrial psychology spheres. Therefore, due to the unfamiliarity of autoethnography, this thesis is presented in a conventional style, and uses both a realist and confessional tale (Van Maanen, 1988; Sparkes, 2002), which arguably, are the preferred styles amongst local mainstream qualitative researchers. The content of this thesis is presented to the audience of industrial psychologists, industrial psychology interns, industrial psychology internship supervisors, organisations hosting industrial psychology interns, institutions overseeing industrial psychology internship programmes, academics, qualitative researchers, managers, employees, professionals and representatives at the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). The intention of the research findings is to highlight the extreme necessity of ensuring that internship training programmes enhance professional development, rather than being detrimental to it. The autoethnographic account that is presented, portrays the author’s experience of her industrial psychology internship, the fulfilment of which, was required for registration as an industrial psychologist with the HPCSA. The thesis is divided up into four parts, namely: My Acquaintance, My Acceptance, My Acquisition, and My Analysis. In Part One, My Acquaintance, the reader is introduced to the research genre of autoethnography, as well as to contemporary creative methods, such as poetry and allegories, that have potential benefits for use in the workplace. In Part Two, My Acceptance, an autoethnographic account is presented, where scenes from the internship are ‘performed’. Through personal interpretation of these scenes, the readersare, in essence, creating an autoethnography of their perceptions of what the author experienced, and what they experience through the telling of the author’s account. In Part Three, My Acquisition, those aspects that were acquired from conducting the autoethnography are presented as contributions to academia and the industrial psychology sphere. These contribute to the current theoretical knowledge by making information available regarding the inherent experience of an intern, and the need for organisations to effectively host interns. These acquisitions are as follows: the Creative Hospitality and Integration Method (C-HIM), which suggests how an intern can be successfully assimilated to the organisation, and the Workplace Allegories which aim to empower the intern and enable her to grow in self-awareness. These Workplace Allegories are implemented through the Allegorical Implementation Method (AIM), by making use of the Workplace Allegories Bridge Approach (WABA).In terms of contributions to the field of autoethnography, My FOPR Process, My Autoethnographic Contextual Awareness Guideline (My ACAG, pronounced A-Cag), and My 4-A Grid are presented. My FOPR Process serves to guide autoethnographic researchers through the process of writing an autoethnography. My ACAG aims to assist the autoethnographic researchers, in keeping focused on events relevant to the research topic. My 4-A Grid highlights the necessity of focusing on the self (auto), the culture (ethnos) and the research process (graphy) when conducting an autoethnography (Reed-Danahay, 1997; Richards, 2003), and places emphasis on aligning these perspectives to the four tools the author deems necessary for an autoethnographic study: My Acquaintance, My Acceptance, My Acquisition and My Analysis. The entire structure of this thesis is constructed according to My 4-A Grid.In Part Four, My Analysis, three forms of autoethnographic analysis were conceived through the writing of this thesis, My Auto-Analysis (a self-analysis); My Ethno-Analysis (a brief analysis of the organisation hosting the internship); and My Graphy-Analysis (a critical analysis of the manner in which autoethnography was made use of in this thesis). / Pro. F.Crous Prof.W.J. Schurink
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:6581 |
| Date | 16 May 2008 |
| Creators | Avraamides, Melanie |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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