A different perspective on a scale for pairwise comparisons

TL;DR

This paper advocates for smaller scales in pairwise comparisons to improve consistency and accuracy in subjective assessments, proposing a paradigm shift in scale construction for collective intelligence methods.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to scale design in pairwise comparisons, supported by mathematical and practical justifications, aiming to enhance assessment reliability.

Findings

Smaller scales reduce inconsistency in subjective assessments.

Mathematical analysis supports the effectiveness of smaller scales.

Potential applicability to other subjective scale methods.

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.