A different perspective on a scale for pairwise comparisons

Abstract

One of the major challenges for collective intelligence is inconsistency, which is unavoidable whenever subjective assessments are involved. Pairwise comparisons allow one to represent such subjective assessments and to process them by analyzing, quantifying and identifying the inconsistencies. We propose using smaller scales for pairwise comparisons and provide mathematical and practical justifications for this change. Our postulate's aim is to initiate a paradigm shift in the search for a better scale construction for pairwise comparisons. Beyond pairwise comparisons, the results presented may be relevant to other methods using subjective scales. Keywords: pairwise comparisons, collective intelligence, scale, subjective assessment, inaccuracy, inconsistency.

16 pages, 1 figure; the mathematical theory has been provided for the use of small scale (1 to 3) for pairwise comparisons (but not only)

Cited by in corpus (9)

• Notes on discrepancy in the pairwise comparisons method
• New results on inconsistency indices and their relationship with the quality of priority vector estimation
• On the Properties of the Priority Deriving Procedure in the Pairwise Comparisons Method
• A gradient method for inconsistency reduction of pairwise comparisons matrices
• Notes on the existence of solutions in the pairwise comparisons method using the Heuristic Rating Estimation approach
• On the use of group theory to generalize elements of pairwise comparisons matrix: a cautionary note
• On Orthogonal Projections on the Space of Consistent Pairwise Comparisons Matrices
• Pairwise Comparisons Matrix Decomposition into Approximation and Orthogonal Component Using Lie Theory
• On the Convergence of the Pairwise Comparisons Inconsistency Reduction Process