I was pulled up recently for using the phrase "top quartile" to define a
quarter of a sample. Statistical dictionaries appear to support my
critic, defining the quartile as the point estimate of the percentile.
However, I feel it's a long-established extension of meaning to refer to
the parts of the sample or population. For example, this from the
Guardian 2003:
"... They quote Alison Wolf, of the London School of Economics, to show
that when only 10% of the population have degrees, someone in the top
25% of the ability range will still have plenty of job opportunities and
it is a rational decision not to bother with university. But once more
than 50% of the population holds a higher education qualification, the
same employer that was targeting the top quartile of the population in
terms of ability will now make the assumption that they require a
graduate."
Do you agree with my usage, or think it sloppy and wrong? If the
latter, what word does describe the subset? The "top quarter" seems to
me vague and ambiguous.
Comments to me, and I'll summarize later.
Allan
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