Egeo412
Fall 2007
Ordinal Ranking Assignment
Introduction: Based
upon an issue that you wish to investigate using the ordinal ranking procedure develop a succinct statement of the issue, and a
group of factors that will allow for analysis of the issue. Follow this by
building a model to analyze the issue based upon attribute information for a
defined set of geographic entities. As you might have guessed you have to pick
your own issue to investigate – just want to make sure you understand
that. Second it should be a geographic
question not a non-geographic one like what kind of a car to buy.
Steps in this procedure
Statement of problem -- what issue do you wish to investigate, why, why is it important,
who might be the target audience for the results…
Determination of factors -- describe the values/decision criteria that both help to define and
effect change in regards to an issue.
Now follow the ten steps for translating this issue
into an ordinal ranking model and solving it:
1. Select Alternatives to be Ranked (Choose Geographic Entities for this step).
2. Determine Values (Decision Criteria) to use
to describe and differentiate between the Alternatives (start building
objective function)
3. Find measurable Variables (attributes) to
represent each Value as a measurable quantity
4. Determine utility functions for each Variable
(create a standard metric)
5.
Replace Variable measures with
corresponding utility measure
6.
Rank
the Variables, highest to lowest
7.
Give relative weights to adjacent Variables
8.
Calculate absolute weights for entire
system
9.
Create weighted utility table – becomes
Objective function
10.
Rank the Alternatives based on Objective
Function total --
result is best solution (best geographic entity?)
Write-up
1.
Problem: Provide
a complete statement of the problem as discussed above that you wish to
investigate
2.
Ten Steps to a solution: Address each of the 10 steps. For those involving
discussion (identification of the geographic entities) provide it. For those
that require formulas or other manipulations of the data provide a formula or
description of the manipulation required.
3.
Worksheets:
Provide annotated spreadsheets illustrating important steps performed above.
4.
Table of results: In tabular format summarize your results.
5.
Map: Map out
your results (those of you that know GIS, that would
be an appropriate way to present the data).
6.
Discussion: Describe
and discuss you results. What did you determine? What more might be
investigated? Are there more things, better things that could be done?
7.
Title Page:
Your name, course, date… on last sheet facing outwards
Due in one week.