Inconsistency indices for incomplete pairwise comparisons matrices

Abstract

Comparing alternatives in pairs is a very well known technique of ranking creation. The answer to how reliable and trustworthy ranking depends on the inconsistency of the data from which it was created. There are many indices used for determining the level of inconsistency among compared alternatives. Unfortunately, most of them assume that the set of comparisons is complete, i.e. every single alternative is compared to each other. This is not true and the ranking must sometimes be made based on incomplete data. In order to fill this gap, this work aims to adapt several existing inconsistency indices for the purpose of analyzing incomplete data sets. The modified indices are subjected to Monte Carlo experiments. Those of them that achieved the best results in the experiments carried out are recommended for use in practice.