Understanding When to Use of 'Significant' in Academic Writing

The word "significant" is frequently used in academic writing. While "significant" has both general and statistical meanings, its use in academic writing should generally be limited to statistical contexts to maintain clarity and precision in research communication. Below we discuss why avoiding "significant" in nonstatistical contexts is preferred, and we suggest a few alternative expressions to help your writing sound more natural.

The Statistical Meaning of "Significant"
In research, especially in the sciences, "significant" has a specific statistical meaning. A result is considered "statistically significant" if it is unlikely to have occurred by random chance, as determined by a statistical test (typically with a p value threshold of 0.05).
For example:
"The treatment group showed a significant decrease in X compared with the control group (p = 0.03)."
Here, "significant" refers only to the statistical analysis and does not imply practical importance or relevance.

Avoid “Significant” in NonStatistical Contexts
Outside of statistics, "significant" is often used to mean important, meaningful, or considerable. However, this usage can lead to ambiguity in academic writing, as readers may assume a statistical implication.
For example, consider the sentence:
"Our finding have significant implications for the design of self-driving vehicles."
A reader might wonder whether the implications are statistically significant or merely important.
To avoid confusion, alternative words should be used:

Best Practices for Using "Significant"
It is best to use "significant" only when referring to statistical results and avoid using it in nonstatistical contexts. When emphasizing the importance of a finding replace “significant” with clearer alternatives. Finally, if the term significant is used, authors should support their claims by providing the p values of the statistical tests used.

While authors might be tempted to highlight the value of their study by repeatedly using the word “significant,” often it is more useful to use alternative expressions when describing importance, impact, or relevance— “significant” should be reserved to describe statistical significance. By following these best practices, researchers can communicate their findings more effectively and avoid one of the most common pitfalls in academic writing.