A news channel questions 2,000 voters as they leave the polling booths and uses their answers to predict the result of an election in which 15 lakh votes are cast. Drawing a conclusion about the whole population from a sample in this way is called
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → statistical inference
Statistical inference is the process of making estimates or drawing conclusions about a whole population from the information in a sample. The channel studies only 2,000 voters (the sample) and draws a conclusion about all the voters (the population).
Why the other options are incorrect
Option (1) census — Incorrect. A census studies every member of the population; here only 2,000 voters are questioned.
Option (3) sampling error — Incorrect. Sampling error is the difference between a sample statistic and the population parameter, not the process of drawing conclusions.
Option (4) parameter — Incorrect. A parameter is a numerical value describing the population, not a process.