# How to report asymmetrical confidence intervals of a proportion?

I've calculated the proportion of chicks fledged out of the number of eggs hatched in each year using prop.test() in R. I see that it gives me the proportion fledged, but also the 95% confidence interval, which is what I'm after. Having read the excellent information from another question on this site here, I understand why I don't have symmetry in my 95% CIs!

• However, how should I report this in a paper?

I've seen people report values as 38% (±0.2%), with an indication that the value in brackets is 95% CI. Obviously this won't work for asymmetrical CIs. Must I report the upper and lower values in these cases?

• Sure, I would report the lower and upper limit. For a real-world example, see this BMJ article (p. 4, Table 2). – Bernd Weiss May 31 '11 at 1:08
• Thanks @Bernd. That's a great paper that provides a great solution. – Mog May 31 '11 at 2:00

• Thanks @Michael. That's good to know that the method should be reported as well. So, if I'm using the prop.test() code in R, based on the other (linked) answer, I would be using the Wilson method with Yates' continuity correction, correct? Is there a reason why I should or shouldn't use the continuity correction? – Mog May 31 '11 at 2:06