Paired Comparison Technique

The paired comparison technique is a research design that yields interval-level scaled scores that are created from ratings made by each respondent for all possible pairs of items under consideration. The basis for the method dates back to its first reported use in the mid-1800s. Although the technique is a very powerful approach for producing a highly reliable ranking of the rated items, it is underutilized by survey researchers due to the amount of data that often must be gathered, and thus its cost and the burden it places on respondents.

At the simplest level, paired comparisons (i.e. simultaneously comparing two things with each other) are made by each respondent among a set of items using a binary scale that indicates which of the two choices ...