Multiple criteria decision aid research
Explore our research into decision-making for complex problems
Multiple criteria decision aid helps people – such as business managers and public administrators – to make better-informed decisions.
It's a rich and varied field of research, which spans a host of potential applications and a diverse array of methods. Multiple criteria decision aid techniques are especially valuable for approaching complex problems with conflicting criteria and/or uncertain or missing data.
These methods can be applied in any field in which decisions are taken, and our specialist academics have contributed to projects focused on reducing the costs of wind farm operations, improving the effectiveness of maritime security, and many more.
Thanks to our research, governments, policy makers and companies can take better decisions on complex matters, and justify them every time.
Our research covers the following topics
- Analytic hierarchy process (AHP)
- Outranking methods
- Data envelopment analysis (DEA)
- Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM)
- Multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT)
- Multi-objective optimisation (MOO)
- Rule-based approach
- Group decisions
- Decision modelling
- Interactive methods
- Decision support system (DSS)
Methods and facilities
Our work uses mainly quantitative research techniques, as our methods rely on data. The exception is when we're structuring a problem, as qualitative techniques are more appropriate for this.
Specialist facilities available for our research at СÀ¶ÊÓƵ include a decision lab with a suit of dedicated software.
Partnerships and funders
To test the validity of the new decision techniques we develop, we collaborate with a large number of local and international organisations.
We've received millions in research funding from organisations including the EU and from a range of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. Recent funding includes an award of €242,429 for the EU's Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS).
Projects and publications
Findings from our research are published in a range of journals, including Management Science, European Journal of Operational Research, OMEGA, Expert Systems with Applications, International Journal of Production Research, International Journal of Production Economics, and Journal of the Operational Research Society.
Project highlights
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Arctic and North Atlantic Security and Emergency Preparedness Network (ARCSAR)
We're addressing the Arctic and North-Atlantic (ANA) region in preparing to cope with security and safety threats that will result from increased commercial activity in the region.
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The CoBra Project
The CoBra project aims to improve the quality of diagnosis and treatment of localised cancers by developing a new medical robot prototype for brachytherapy and biopsy guided by CTs or MRIs scanners.
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Smart Light Concepts
We're seeking solutions that will help reduce CO2 emissions from public lighting.
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NEREUS (New Energy and REsources from Urban Sanitation)
We aim to tackle common 2 Seas area challenges and to boost the developing green economy by transforming wastewater into reusable water, valuable resources (eg cellulose, nutrients), and energy.
Recent publications
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Jones, Dylan ; Labib, Ashraf ; Willis, Kevin Oliver et al. / Multi-criteria mapping and prioritization of Arctic and North Atlantic maritime safety and security needs. In: European Journal of Operational Research. 2022.
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Ceyhan, Gökhan ; Köksalan, Murat ; Lokman, Banu. / Finding the nondominated set and efficient integer vectors for a class of three-objective mixed-integer linear programs. In: Management Science. 2022.
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Jones, Dylan ; Firouzy, Sina ; Labib, Ashraf. / Multiple criteria model for allocating new medical robotic devices to treatment centres. In: European Journal of Operational Research. 2022 ; Vol. 297, No. 2. pp. 652-664.
Research groups
Centre for Operational Research and Logistics
We're using our expertise in analytics, system design, simulation, programming, and forecasting to help organisations around the world make better decisions.
Logistics Operational Research and Analytics Group
We're researching how we can apply quantitative methodologies to improve decision-making across a range of diverse fields of application.
Discover our areas of expertise
Multiple criteria decision aid is one of our eight areas of expertise in the Operational Research and Logistics research area. Explore the others below.
Decision and data analytics
Research in the design of decision support systems, and use of data analysis, to help people make better decisions through a better understanding of their data.
Exact and metaheuristic solution methods
Heuristic and metaheuristic techniques are powerful and flexible research methodologies that offer a faster way of solving complex logistical challenges.
Healthcare analytics
From nurse scheduling to infection and disease modelling, our research provides decision-makers in the healthcare sector with optimal strategies for treatment.
Transportation and Maritime Systems
Our research focuses on developing innovative optimisation models and decision support systems, to help improve the mobility of people, goods and services.
Optimisation Modelling
As well as improving business efficiency, we're enabling people to make optimal decisions that can lead to practices with enhanced economic, environmental or social benefits.
Renewable Energy and Sustainability Analytics
Modelling to answer a host of questions, from how to produce renewable energy more cheaply, to how the associated logistics can be sustainable.
Risk and security analytics
We help organisations learn from failures, so they can improve the quality and resilience of their operations, and we develop new analytic approaches to detect security threats.
Interested in a PhD in Operational Research & Logistics?
Browse our postgraduate research degrees – including PhDs and MPhils – at our Operational Research & Logistics postgraduate research degrees page.