The phrase "a preliminary set of three" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when referring to an initial grouping or collection of three items, ideas, or elements that are being considered or evaluated.
Example: "Before we finalize our decision, let's review a preliminary set of three options that we have identified."
Alternatives: "an initial group of three" or "a draft collection of three".
Based on the literature, we proposed a preliminary set of ten indicators to determine the quality of the essential functions of a national registry.
A preliminary set of two categories extracted from the interview guide (e.g. points-of-entry to end-of-life care services and sources of end-of-life care and support) was used to provide an initial framework for the analysis.
A random sample of 10% of articles will be selected, assessed and discussed by two review authors using a preliminary set of inclusion/exclusion criteria.
For this benchmark, we selected a preliminary set of 99 OMIM disease phenotypes, each of which is associated with at least three known disease proteins (Supplementary Table S5).
In Stage 1, we utilize information from only two of the sensors in order to propose a preliminary set of partitions.
To produce a preliminary set of methodological considerations for cross-sectional and retrospective cohort studies of multi-morbidity in primary care using three studies as examples.
Once a preliminary set of items was developed, we administered an initial draft of the instrument in "talk-through interviews" with nine patients.
Last month, Gartner released a preliminary set of results for the global PC market in 4Q 2013, indicating the PC sales fell 6.9% to 82.6 million units.
A preliminary set of markers was used to analyze a second, half-sibling family to determine the number of progeny from each of the three fathers.
Today Gartner released a preliminary set of results for the global PC market in the fourth quarter of 2013, indicating that PC sales fell 6.9% to 82.6 million units.
