Time Efficiency of Preference Scaling Methods

Abstract

The time required by judges to complete the recording of their preferences among a series of items was measured in several situations. In an experiment concerning the judgment of the relative value of six weapon system criteria, time was measured on the recording of judgments by the following methods: ranking, rating, three versions of paired comparisons, and a method of successive comparisons. In a second experiment on judging six weapon system criteria, and a third on six manager characteristics, similar time data were collected by all methods but successive comparisons. In a fourth experiment, time data were collected on recording preferences for fruits, vegetables, colors, and vacation areas when 6, 10, 20, and 30 of each were ranked, and when paired comparisons was used for 6, 10, and 20 of each. Ranking consistently is by far the most efficient of the methods tested for recording such preferences, and, as previously reported research has shown, can yield preference scales similar to the other methods.