1
$\begingroup$

This is a terminological question. Does the phrase "significant majority" have a formal meaning in statistics? I have in mind something like 600 successes in 1000 trials, where the lower bound of the 99.99% confidence interval is greater than 50%. Or is it still just an informal expression meaning "lots more than half"?

EDIT

Assuming "significant majority" is just an informal expression, what's the most concise way to express the prediction that the number of successes will be such that the lower bound of the 99.99% confidence interval will be greater than 50%? I'm looking for a form of words.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ Re EDIT: What's wrong with the words you have chosen to ask this? $\endgroup$
    – Christian Hennig
    Commented Jan 11, 2023 at 17:44
  • $\begingroup$ I was hoping there was something a bit less wordy, but I'll stick with it if not. $\endgroup$
    – Remster
    Commented Jan 11, 2023 at 17:59

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2
$\begingroup$

The meaning isn't formally fixed. For clear communication say explicitly that the majority is significantly larger than 1/2 (p<1e-8 or whatever, even better give the confidence interval). If you come across the term "significant majority" without any further explanation, the writer may or may not mean significant according to a statistical test, and I'd be rather annoyed because of ambiguity.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you. I've made an edit to my original post, in view of your response. $\endgroup$
    – Remster
    Commented Jan 11, 2023 at 17:36

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.