Non-discriminating Criteria in theAHP : Removal and Rank Reversal
article
A non-discriminating criterion is defined as a criterion where the decision-maker is indifferent among the
alternatives. One would therefore expect the final rank order of the alternatives not to be affected by removing it. A
previously published paper by Finan and Hurley (Comput. Oper. Res. 2002; 29: 1025–1030) showed that in the
analytic hierarchy process removing such a criterion from a multilevel hierarchy can reverse rank. In this paper, we
offer an explanation of this particular rank reversal phenomenon and show how it can be avoided. We do this by
taking into account that there is a link between the normalization and weighting processes, which suggests adjusting
appropriate weights when removing criteria. Further, we discuss whether a non-discriminating criterion should be
removed in the first place
alternatives. One would therefore expect the final rank order of the alternatives not to be affected by removing it. A
previously published paper by Finan and Hurley (Comput. Oper. Res. 2002; 29: 1025–1030) showed that in the
analytic hierarchy process removing such a criterion from a multilevel hierarchy can reverse rank. In this paper, we
offer an explanation of this particular rank reversal phenomenon and show how it can be avoided. We do this by
taking into account that there is a link between the normalization and weighting processes, which suggests adjusting
appropriate weights when removing criteria. Further, we discuss whether a non-discriminating criterion should be
removed in the first place
Topics
TNO Identifier
281688
Source
Journal of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, 15(September-December), pp. 143-149.
Pages
143-149
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