Somewhere every June, in the far dark corners of the earth, a unique gathering happens: over 1,000 high school and college English teachers from across the United States meet to score AP English exams. It’s a mysterious part of my career that has consumed nine days of my life every
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So, I’m kind of a lover of languages. Whenever I’ve had a chance to travel around the globe, I’ve been fascinated by the differences in, say Czech versus Polish, when the two countries are right next to each other. And languages like Khmer (Cambodia) are so foreign to me, yet
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All-you-can-eat sushi! All-you-can-eat “sushi”! What’s the difference between the two phrases above? It’s the difference between real, quality ingredients made from fresh, edible goodness and, well, some mysterious concoction that may or may not do your bowels any favors four hours after eating it. Those quotation marks make a huge
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My experience tells me that, in theory, most high school graduates understand the most fundamental rule about using apostrophes: they are used for possession. (Oh, sure, apostrophes do other things, too [like omitting letters in contractions, among other things], but the possession thing tends to be what people think of
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Punctuation, like the word’s most famous flightless bird–the dodo–may be on the verge of extinction. Not all punctuation marks risk the dodo’s fate, of course. Periods will likely stand the test of time–they’re the one constant in the construction of written language, and they’re fairly universal. With few exceptions, most
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Surveys are a research tool designed to gather specific information from large groups of people. Depending on the sample size of people and the questions asked, surveys can sometimes be quantified and used for statistical analysis. Use surveys to learn perspectives from a wide range of people. Click on the
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Observations are an important research method for managers, businesses, and researchers alike to determine how people interact and behave in different environments. Observations can help researchers better determine what people do given different scenarios and environmental factors. Click on the diagram below to learn the five steps for conducting effective
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Interviews are a critical component to many types of research, often conducted as one of many divers methods to collect rich individual data and storytelling evidence. Click on the diagram below to learn the five steps for conducting effective interviews for research. How to Conduct Interviews for Research Recruit Participants
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Focus groups are useful research methods for learning about people’s perceptions, beliefs, expectations, opinions, and other qualitative data and anecdotal evidence. Focus groups are typically done with a research moderator meeting with a small group of people (often between 6 and 12 in number) to ask them question about their
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Ethnography research is a method used by professionals and academics alike to determine how people interact with each other in a specified environment. Different from simple observational research, ethnography requires that a researcher integrate him/herself into the environment, typically playing a role of someone in that environment. Ethnographic research can
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