A systematic review on multi-criteria group decision-making methods based on weights: analysis and classification scheme

Interest in group decision-making (GDM) has been increasing prominently over the last decade. Access to global databases, sophisticated sensors which can obtain multiple inputs or complex problems requiring opinions from several experts have driven interest in data aggregation. Consequently, the field has been widely studied from several viewpoints and multiple approaches have been proposed. Nevertheless, there is a lack of general framework. Moreover, this problem is exacerbated in the case of experts’ weighting methods, one of the most widely-used techniques to deal with multiple source aggregation. This lack of general classification scheme, or a guide to assist expert knowledge, leads to ambiguity or misreading for readers, who may be overwhelmed by the large amount of unclassified information currently available. To invert this situation, a general GDM framework is presented which divides and classifies all data aggregation techniques, focusing on and expanding the classification of experts’ weighting methods in terms of analysis type by carrying out an in-depth literature review. Results are not only classified but analysed and discussed regarding multiple characteristics, such as MCDMs in which they are applied, type of data used, ideal solutions considered or when they are applied. Furthermore, general requirements supplement this analysis such as initial influence, or component division considerations. As a result, this paper provides not only a general classification scheme and a detailed analysis of experts’ weighting methods but also a road map for researchers working on GDM topics or a guide for experts who use these methods. Furthermore, six significant contributions for future research pathways are provided in the conclusions.The first author acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Universities [grant number FPU18/01471]. The second and third author wish to recognize their support from the Serra Hunter program. Finally, this work was supported by the Catalan agency AGAUR through its research group support program (2017SGR00227). This research is part of the R&D project IAQ4EDU, reference no. PID2020-117366RB-I00, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

An Interactive Approach Based on Alternative Achievement Scale and Alternative Comprehensive Scale for Multiple Attribute Decision Making under Linguistic Environment

The aim of this paper is to develop an interactive approach for multiple attribute decision making with incomplete weight information under linguistic environment. Some of the concepts are defined, such as the distance between two 2-tuple linguistic variables, the expectation level of alternative, the achievement scale, the alternative comprehensive scale under linguistic environment. Based on these concepts, we establish some linear programming models, through which the decision maker interacts with the analyst. Furthermore, we establish a practical interactive approach for selecting the most desirable alternative(s). The interactive process can be realized by giving and revising the achievement scale and comprehensive scale of alternatives till the achievement scale and the comprehensive scale are achieved to the decision maker’s request. Finally, an illustrative example is also given.The author is very grateful to the associated editor and two anonymous referees for their insightful and constructive comments and suggestions that have led to an improved version of this paper. This work was partly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 90924027, No. 71101043), National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, No. 2010C B951104), Key Program of National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 10AJY005), College Philosophy and Social Science Research Project of Jiangsu Province under Grant 2011SJD630007.Xu, Y.; Wang, H.; Palacios Marqués, D. (2013). An Interactive Approach Based on Alternative Achievement Scale and Alternative Comprehensive Scale for Multiple Attribute Decision Making under Linguistic Environment. International Journal of Computational Intelligence Systems. 6(1):87-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/18756891.2013.756226S87956

Evaluation of e-learning web sites using fuzzy axiomatic design based approach

High quality web site has been generally recognized as a critical enabler to conduct online business. Numerous studies exist in the literature to measure the business performance in relation to web site quality. In this paper, an axiomatic design based approach for fuzzy group decision making is adopted to evaluate the quality of e-learning web sites. Another multi-criteria decision making technique, namely fuzzy TOPSIS, is applied in order to validate the outcome. The methodology proposed in this paper has the advantage of incorporating requirements and enabling reductions in the problem size, as compared to fuzzy TOPSIS. A case study focusing on Turkish e-learning websites is presented, and based on the empirical findings, managerial implications and recommendations for future research are offered

The induced 2-tuple linguistic generalized OWA operator and its application in linguistic decision making

We present the induced 2-tuple linguistic generalized ordered weighted averaging (2-TILGOWA) operator. This new aggregation operator extends previous approaches by using generalized means, order-inducing variables in the reordering of the arguments and linguistic information represented with the 2-tuple linguistic approach. Its main advantage is that it includes a wide range of linguistic aggregation operators. Thus, its analyses can be seen from different perspectives and we obtain a much more complete picture of the situation considered and are able to select the alternative that best fits with with our interests or beliefs. We further generalize the operator by using quasi-arithmetic means, and obtain the Quasi-2-TILOWA operator. We conclude this paper by analysing the applicability of this new approach in a decision-making problem concerning product management.linguistic decision making, linguistic generalized mean, 2-tuple linguistic owa operator, 2-tuple linguistic aggregation operator

An interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy multiattribute group decision making framework with incomplete preference over alternatives

This article proposes a framework to handle multiattribute group decision making problems with incomplete pairwise comparison preference over decision alternatives where qualitative and quantitative attribute values are furnished as linguistic variables and crisp numbers, respectively. Attribute assessments are then converted to interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (IVIFNs) to characterize fuzziness and uncertainty in the evaluation process. Group consistency and inconsistency indices are introduced for incomplete pairwise comparison preference relations on alternatives provided by the decision-makers (DMs). By minimizing the group inconsistency index under certain constraints, an auxiliary linear programming model is developed to obtain unified attribute weights and an interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy positive ideal solution (IVIFPIS). Attribute weights are subsequently employed to calculate distances between alternatives and the IVIFPIS for ranking alternatives. An illustrative example is provided to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of this method

Distance-based consensus models for fuzzy and multiplicative 3 preference relations

This paper proposes a distance-based consensus model for fuzzy preference relations where the weights of fuzzy preference relations are automatically determined. Two indices, an individual to group consensus index (ICI) and a group consensus index (GCI), are introduced. An iterative consensus reaching algorithm is presented and the process terminates until both the ICI and GCI are controlled within predefined thresholds. The model and algorithm are then extended to handle multiplicative preference relations. Finally, two examples are illustrated and comparative analyses demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods