Published on
June 27, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA.
Revised on
November 5, 2025
Into and in to are pronounced the same, but they have different grammatical uses.
Into (without space) is a preposition that describes insertion, collision, transformation, or entry. It is also used to express that someone is involved with or interested in something.
In to (with space) is a combination of the two prepositions “in” and “to.” These words are kept separate when they are not connected, such as when “in” is part of a phrasal verb (e.g., “the teacher stepped in to break up the fight”).
Examples: Into in a sentence
Examples: In to in a sentence
Sorry, I’m not into men!
The criminal was turned in to the police by his own mom!
Luke quickly raninto the bathroom before the meeting.
I was just checking in to see how you’re doing.
The artist put a lot of thought into each brushstroke of the masterpiece.
Do you all want to chip in to buy a gift for Samuel?
Published on
June 27, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA.
Revised on
November 4, 2025
Beck and call is the correct spelling of the phrase that’s part of the expression “to be at someone’s beck and call,” which means “to be ready to follow someone’s commands.”
Beckon call is a common misspelling of the phrase and should be avoided.
Examples: Beck and call or beckon call in a sentence
Damien is at the beckon call of his mom.
Damien is at the beck and call of his mom.
You don’t have to be at my beckon call.
You don’t have to be at my beck and call.
The nounbeck is related to the verbbeckon, but they have different meanings and can’t be used as synonyms. Beck is typically only used as part of the expression beck and call.
Published on
June 27, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA.
Revised on
October 29, 2025
A cliché is an overused and unoriginal expression. For example, when having to decide between two unfavorable options, it’s common to say “caught between a rock and a hard place.”
The word cliché functions as a noun (e.g., “I removed all the clichés from my writing”). While some dictionaries recognize it as an adjective (e.g., “The movie had a cliché storyline”), others list clichéd as the adjective form (e.g., “He had a clichéd perspective”).
Examples of ClichesAvoid it like the plague.
Better late than never.
Published on
June 25, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA.
Revised on
November 5, 2025
The difference between “sale” and “sell” is that “sale” only functions as a noun, whereas “sell” can be used as both a noun and a verb.
“Sale” primarily refers to the event of trading goods and services for money (e.g., “All my art work is for sale”).
“Sell,” on the other hand, conveys the action of exchanging goods and services for monetary payment (e.g., “I will sell you this bike”). “Sell” can also be used as a noun to refer to the act of selling something, but this is less common (e.g., “That’s a hard sell”).
Published on
June 14, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA.
Revised on
November 26, 2025
Systematic sampling, also known as systematic random sampling, is a probability sampling technique that involves selecting every nth element from the population, where n is the predetermined sampling interval.
The sampling method provides you with a representative sample of a population as long as the order of the population is random or near-random (e.g., alphabetically ordered). The data collected from this sample can be used to draw conclusions about your entire research population.
Systematic sampling exampleA university wants to study the academic performance of students in a particular course. The course has 500 students, and the university wants to select a sample of 50 students to conduct a survey about their learning experiences.
To conduct the survey, the university decides to use systematic sampling. They start by creating a list of all the students in the course, numbered from 1 to 500.
To select the sample, they decide to use a sampling interval of 10. This means they will select every 10th student from the list until they’ve reached their desired sample size.
Published on
June 14, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA.
Revised on
November 26, 2025
Internal validity refers to the extent to which a research study’s design and methods minimize the likelihood of alternative explanations for the observed effect between variables.
In other words, internal validity addresses the question: “Is the observed effect or relationship likely due to the independent variable (the variable being manipulated) and not due to other factors?”
A high level of internal validity means that the study’s conclusions are likely to be reliable. It’s one of the most important types of validity in research.
Internal validity exampleA fitness instructor wants to investigate whether a new exercise program improves cognitive function in adults. The study consists of 20 participants, who are randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a control group.
The treatment group participates in the new exercise program for 3 months
The control group does not participate in any exercise.
The participants’ cognitive function is assessed using a standardized test at the beginning and end of the 3-month period.
However, during the 3-month period, the participants are also encouraged to eat a healthy diet as part of their overall health and wellness. The researcher doesn’t control for this extraneous variable, so it’s possible that any changes in cognitive function are due to the diet rather than the exercise program. The study has low internal validity
TipWhile not a substitute for expert opinion, generative AI tools like Quillbot’s AI Chat can help you think through possible threats to internal validity in your own or others’ research.
Published on
June 13, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA.
Revised on
November 26, 2025
Face validity is a type of validity that refers to the extent to which a research instrument, such as a survey, questionnaire, or test, appears to measure what it is supposed to measure.
In other words, face validity is concerned with whether the instrument looks like it is measuring what it claims to measure.
Face validity exampleYou’re interested in measuring participants’ weight in a medical trial.
You have thought of two methods of recording weight:
Participants stand on a scale, and you write down the number.
Participants self-report what they eat, and you estimate their weight.
Both methods have a very different level of face validity:
The first technique has high face validity because a scale is an appropriate instrument to measure weight.
The second technique has low face validity because you can’t deduce weight from information on what someone eats.
Face validity is typically evaluated by experts in the field, such as researchers or academics who have knowledge about the topic being studied. They review the instrument and assess whether it appears to measure the concepts or variables it claims to measure.
Published on
June 9, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA.
Revised on
November 26, 2025
Ordinal data is categorized into ranks, with each category having a natural order. However, the spacing between these categories is not clearly uniform or quantifiable.
For instance, consider the variable “college degree,” which can be categorized into the following levels:
Associate degree
Bachelor’s degree
Master’s degree
Doctoral degree
While there is a clear hierarchical structure to these categories, we can’t claim that the difference between “associate degree” and “bachelor’s degree” is the exact same as the difference between “master’s degree” and “doctoral degree.” This lack of precise measurement makes this scale ordinal in nature.
Published on
June 9, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA.
Revised on
November 26, 2025
Nominal data is a type of qualitative data that is characterized by its categorical nature. It is often used to describe characteristics or attributes of individuals, objects, or events, and it is typically represented as a label or category.
Nominal labels or categories don’t have an inherent rank or numerical value, which means you can’t logically order them. Researchers often use this type of data in conjunction with other types of quantitative data to provide a more complete understanding of a research question or problem.
Country of origin (e.g., Netherlands, China, Russia, Peru)
Colors (e.g., red, green, blue, purple, yellow)
Vehicle types (e.g., bus, truck, car, motorcycle)
The data for each of these variables can be categorized with labels, but there’s no inherent order to them. For instance, the labels for gender could be ranked in any random order.
Published on
June 9, 2024
by
Julia Merkus, MA.
Revised on
November 26, 2025
An experimental design is a systematic plan for conducting an experiment that aims to test a hypothesis or answer a research question.
It involves manipulating one or more independent variables (IVs) and measuring their effect on one or more dependent variables (DVs) while controlling for other variables that could influence the outcome.
The goal of an experimental design is to isolate the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable while controlling for other variables that could influence the outcome. By doing so, researchers can:
Test causal relationships between variables
Identify the effects of specific interventions or treatments
Make predictions about future outcomes
Your sample needs to be representative to draw valid conclusions from your data. If it’s unethical, hard, or even impossible to randomly assign participants to a control or treatment group, it’s best to use an observational design instead.
