Week 7: Internship and Data Collection

In the past week, I focused on my internship. I attended workshops and local events, as well as supporting backend work including creating marketing materials and listing events.

Regarding the research, I am facing barriers in collecting data, specifically through the way described last week. My counselor has concerns that it may violate the confidentiality of the clients, and even the counselors. However, I am able to read annual data reports for each center that consists of more general data such as bar graphs of what types of businesses are counselling, or why are the clients here, that do not (hopefully) violate the confidentiallity. I will be reading through reports for the remaining of the week to find which would suite this project, and then confirm with my counselor if any data can be disclosed. I am confident that this kind of secondary data analyses would not violate the confidentiality agreement, but I still need approval from my supervisor for specific reports.

If I am granted access to these reports, I will be analyzing 2025 data in detail, and compare it to 5, or 10 years ago, in different economic environments, in conjunction with other governmental reports. The final product will be an owner concern profile to demonstrate how business owners perceive and prioritize threat, and subsequent support suggestions to local organizations.