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Numerical and verbal decision analysis: comparison on practical cases
Author(s) -
Larichev Oleg I.,
Brown Rex V.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of multi‐criteria decision analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.462
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1099-1360
pISSN - 1057-9214
DOI - 10.1002/1099-1360(200011)9:6<263::aid-mcda280>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , decision analysis , computer science , qualitative analysis , government (linguistics) , evidential reasoning approach , decision theory , management science , operations research , qualitative research , decision support system , artificial intelligence , mathematical economics , business decision mapping , mathematics , statistics , engineering , sociology , linguistics , social science , geography , philosophy , archaeology
Numerical decision analysis (NDA), derived from statistical decision theory, is very well known. Verbal decision analysis (VDA), oriented towards so‐called unstructured problems, where the qualitative and uncertain factors dominate, is a newer direction in decision theory and practice. Verbal and numerical decision analyses (DAs) have been compared in an experimental setting, with groups of students. This paper presents the results of a comparison in the context of live practical tasks. Both approaches were attempted on two comparable choices, facing both Russian and US government agencies, involving a choice between oil and gas transportation options. The resulting methodological insights are generalized into a systematic comparison of the strong and weak features of each approach. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.