Abstract
The nine point scale within AHP has been criticised on various grounds. These include the fact that the scale is bounded, that semantic anchoring phrases are employed without validation, and that users are not informed that the numerical values generated are actually assumed to be ratio scaled. Nevertheless, applications of the scale to the measurement of weight, light intensity and distances have generated accurate estimates. Furthermore, it appears to be the case that decision makers do not experience difficulty in using the scale.
The method of Magnitude Estimation of S.S. Stevens has been successfully used in psychophysics for more than thirty years. It too has been designed to generate measurement on a ratio scale, but without the aid of the computer and without the support of consistency checks. This method could be easily substituted for the standard questioning procedure within AHP, with consistency checks added.
This paper reports some preliminary results from an experiment in which the semantically anchored version of the AHP scale and Magnitude Estimation are compared. Magnitude Estimation was found to be more accurate.
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© 1989 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Schoner, B., Wedley, W.C. (1989). Alternative Scales in AHP. In: Lockett, A.G., Islei, G. (eds) Improving Decision Making in Organisations. Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, vol 335. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-49298-3_32
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-49298-3_32
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-51795-5
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