Paarisvõrdlused

Paarisvõrdlused, meaning "pair comparisons" in Estonian, is a method used in decision-making and preference elicitation. It involves presenting a set of options and asking individuals to choose their preferred option between each possible pair. This systematic approach helps to establish a clear ranking or order of preferences among the presented items.

The process typically begins with identifying all possible pairs of items to be compared. For instance, if there are three items A, B, and C, the pairs would be A vs. B, A vs. C, and B vs. C. Participants are then asked to make a choice for each of these pairs, indicating which item they prefer in each comparison. The outcomes of these individual comparisons are then aggregated to determine an overall preference order.

Paarisvõrdlused is often employed in various fields, including market research, product development, and policy analysis. It is particularly useful when dealing with a relatively small number of options, as the number of comparisons grows quadratically with the number of items. While simple to understand, the method can generate robust and reliable preference data. Its strength lies in its directness, forcing a clear choice in each instance, which can reveal subtle differences in preference that might be missed in methods asking for an overall ranking of many items simultaneously.