What term describes selecting a subset of the population to draw conclusions about the whole?

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Multiple Choice

What term describes selecting a subset of the population to draw conclusions about the whole?

Sampling is choosing a subset of the population to draw conclusions about the whole. A census would study everyone, not a subset. A population parameter is the true value describing the entire population (the actual mean, proportion, etc.), which we try to estimate from the sample. A randomized trial is a study design that assigns treatments randomly, not about selecting a subset for inference. So, the term that describes selecting a subset to draw conclusions about the whole is sampling. For example, surveying 500 students to estimate the average GPA of all students uses a sample to infer the population mean.

Sampling is choosing a subset of the population to draw conclusions about the whole. A census would study everyone, not a subset. A population parameter is the true value describing the entire population (the actual mean, proportion, etc.), which we try to estimate from the sample. A randomized trial is a study design that assigns treatments randomly, not about selecting a subset for inference. So, the term that describes selecting a subset to draw conclusions about the whole is sampling. For example, surveying 500 students to estimate the average GPA of all students uses a sample to infer the population mean.

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