An analysis of distributions of priority values from alternative comparison scales within AHP

The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) introduced by T.L. Saaty is a well known and popular method of multi-criteria decision making. Central to this method are the pairwise comparisons between criteria (and decision alternatives) made using a 9-unit scale. The appropriateness of Saaty's original one-to-nine (1-9) scale has been the subject of much debate and cause for concern. This paper contrasts the appropriateness of the 1-9 scale with other alternative 9-nit scales also used in AHP, by looking at the probability distributions of the associated priority values. For large problems. estimated probability distributions are found for the priority values through using the method of Parzen Windows. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.