Title: Use of multiple criteria decision aid methods in case of large amounts of data

Authors: Askoldas Podviezko

Addresses: Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Saulėtekio al. 11, LT-10223 Vilnius, Lithuania; Mykolas Romeris University, Ateities g. 20, LT-08303 Vilnius, Lithuania

Abstract: Cases of large amounts of data and high numbers of criteria for evaluation of socio-economic objects are rather frequent. Evaluation can comprise thousands of entries of data and dozens of different criteria. Quantitative methods of processing large amounts of data could be classified into two broad categories: statistical methods and multiple criteria decision aid (MCDA) methods. Statistical methods impose a number of rather strong limitations on data. In contrast, multiple criteria evaluation methods can deal with ill-defined problems and with multi-dimensional data. Results yielded by statistical methods can be comprised by specialists, while results yielded by the MCDA methods are specifically designed for decision-makers. The MCDA methods provide results in the form of ranking of alternatives by their preference to decision-makers of various backgrounds. Even if is a convenient way, it is not well-informative. In the paper, various techniques of choosing the most important criteria, of building a hierarchy of criteria, of retrieval of results of evaluation broadening usage of multiple criteria methods are proposed, making emphasis on cases with large amounts of data.

Keywords: MCDA methods; big data; criteria hierarchy; multicriteria decision analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEM.2015.068351

International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, 2015 Vol.7 No.2, pp.155 - 169

Received: 04 Jul 2014
Accepted: 01 Oct 2014
Published online: 31 Mar 2015 *

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