Parinvalinta

Parinvalinta, also known as "pairwise comparison" or "pairwise preference allocation," is a decision-making technique used to rank a set of alternatives based on pairwise comparisons. This method involves comparing each pair of alternatives to determine which one is preferred. The results of these comparisons are then used to construct a ranking of all alternatives.

The process begins by creating a matrix where each cell represents a comparison between two alternatives. The decision-maker assigns a score or preference level to each comparison, indicating which alternative is preferred and by how much. These scores can be binary (e.g., 1 for preference, 0 for no preference) or ordinal (e.g., 1 to 5 scale indicating the strength of preference).

Once all pairwise comparisons are made, the results are aggregated to determine the overall ranking. This can be done using various methods, such as summing the scores for each alternative or using more sophisticated algorithms like the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) or the Eigenvector method.

Parinvalinta is particularly useful in situations where the decision-maker has a clear preference between pairs of alternatives but struggles to rank all alternatives simultaneously. It is widely used in fields such as economics, psychology, and operations research for tasks like market research, policy analysis, and resource allocation. The method's simplicity and flexibility make it a valuable tool for decision-making in both academic and practical settings.