Graduation marks a huge accomplishment and the start of a new beginning. The perfect graduation message should offer a heartfelt congratulations and best wishes or advice for the future. This article contains examples and ideas to help you write the perfect card for any graduate.
Continue reading: Graduation Messages | 70 Examples, Ideas & Quotes
Sampling methods are techniques to select a subset of individuals (the sample) from a larger group (the population). They are key to many research and statistics applications.
Sampling methods are necessary because it’s often difficult—or impossible—to study every individual in a population (imagine trying to survey every adult on Earth!). Instead, researchers focus on a smaller group, called a sample, which allows them to draw conclusions about the larger population.
To make accurate inferences about the population, it’s important to choose a sample that is representative. A representative sample closely reflects the characteristics of the population of interest.
Sampling methods can be categorized as probability or non-probability.
When writing a report or research paper, it is important to describe the sampling methods you used to select your sample. QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can help you describe your methods as precisely as possible.
The professor could interview every single student on campus, but this would take a very long time. Instead, she selects a sample.
The professor might decide to interview the students in her seminar class. This approach would be quick and easy, but not representative (non-probability sampling).
Alternatively, she could randomly select students from the entire university (probability sampling). This approach would be more representative, but harder to coordinate.
Continue reading: Sampling Methods | Types, Descriptions & Examples
Correlational research explores how two or more variables are statistically related. Importantly, these variables are measured as-is, without manipulation.
Correlational research can be helpful when it is unethical to manipulate variables (e.g., withholding medical treatment from someone violates research ethics) or impossible to do so (e.g., you cannot manipulate someone’s age).
Unlike experimental research, correlational research cannot establish causation. You can characterize how variables are related, but you cannot prove that changes to one cause changes to the other.
Common statistical methods to calculate correlation include Pearson’s r and regression analysis.
They collect data from 100 students, recording their GPA and how many hours of sleep they get, on average, each night.
The researcher finds that students who sleep more tend to have higher GPAs (in other words, there is a strong, positive correlation between the two).
Because this is a correlational study, the researcher cannot conclude that more sleep causes higher grades. There may be other variables that are influencing these results (e.g., perhaps students with better time management sleep more and also do better in school).
Continue reading: Correlational Research | Definition & When To Use
PS (or P.S.) is an abbreviation for postscript, which is text written after the main body of a piece of writing.
The term postscript comes from the Latin post scriptum, which directly translates to “written after.”
PS is used at the end of a letter or an email to add further information, comments, or thoughts. This text is usually just one or two sentences or a short paragraph. It often has a friendly or playful tone.
Hi Ava,
Just a quick note to say thanks again for your help with my presentation. It went really well, and I couldn’t have done it without your feedback!
Best,
Aisha
PS: I forgot to mention that we’re having a team lunch next Friday. If you’re free, you should join!
Continue reading: What does PS Mean? | How to Use & Examples
Explanatory research is conducted to gain a better understanding of why something occurs. The aim of explanatory research is often to characterize a cause-and-effect relationship (i.e., how changes to an independent variable impact a dependent variable).
Explanatory research can be conducted in a naturalistic setting (by assessing the correlation between variables without attempting to change them) or in an experimental setting (by manipulating an independent variable and observing its impact on a dependent variable in a controlled environment).
Explanatory research is sometimes considered equivalent to experimental research, but more often refers to research conducted at an earlier stage in the research process, before a formal hypothesis has been created. It may more closely resemble quasi-experimental design.
Continue reading: Explanatory Research | Definition & Examples
An out-of-office message (sometimes called an OOO message) is an automatic reply email that notifies anyone trying to contact you that you are away.
An automatic reply is a response that is automatically sent to anyone who emails you. Automatic replies can be configured for a specified time. It is conventional to set an automatic reply out-of-office message when you will be away from work for an extended period.
Continue reading: Out-of-Office Message | Examples & Tips
As its name suggests, exploratory research is conducted to explore or learn more about a new research area. Exploratory research can be helpful when you don’t know much about the topic you’re studying or want to develop hypotheses.
Exploratory research can use secondary sources (results that have already been analyzed or interpreted, like a literature review) or primary sources (data that come directly from the subject). It may involve qualitative or quantitative methods.
Exploratory research is common in areas like marketing but may also be applied in fields like politics or social sciences.
Continue reading: Exploratory Research | Definition, Types & Examples
Cc in email stands for “carbon copy” (or alternatively, “courtesy copy”). It is a way to include someone in an email while indicating that this person does not necessarily need to respond.
There are three ways to include someone in an email: the “to,” “cc,” and “bcc” fields. Their similarities and differences are summarized in the table below.
| Field | Visible to other recipients | Included in “reply all” |
|---|---|---|
| To | ||
| Cc | ||
| Bcc |
Continue reading: CC in Email | Definition & Tips
Bcc, or “blind carbon copy,” is a way to send an email to someone without other recipients seeing. The bcc’d recipient(s) will be able to see anyone in the “to” and “cc” fields, but only the sender can see who has been bcc’d. Anyone bcc’d on an email will not be included in “reply all” messages.
There are different ways to send someone an email, which are summarized in the following table.
| Field | Visible to other recipients | Included in “reply all” |
|---|---|---|
| To | ||
| Cc | ||
| Bcc |
Continue reading: BCC in Email | Definition & Tips
Thematic analysis is a research method used to analyze qualitative (nonnumeric) data. The purpose of thematic analysis is to identify common patterns or ideas (themes) in a dataset.
Thematic analysis is a flexible approach to qualitative analysis that can be used across many fields, including healthcare, psychology, education, and consumer research.
Continue reading: Thematic Analysis | A Step-by-Step Guide
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