Statistics may be vital in obtaining its result (6,7)
I believe the answer is:
beauty contest
'statistics' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are singular nouns.
Perhaps you can see an association between them that I can't see?
'be vital in obtaining its result' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'be' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'may' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for beauty contest that I've seen before include "Competition to be Miss Wherever" , "Where might a queen be crowned" , "Looks show" , "Miss World, for example" .)