Paired Comparisons and Graph Theory

This article is a technical note on a problem frequently encountered in assessing consumer preferences. Intransitivity is seen in situations where Product a is preferred to Product b, b to c, but c to a. Inadequate preference transitivity casts suspicion on rank orders of products derived from series of paired comparisons. This problem can be given graph theoretic treatment which, although it offers no absolute solution, does make the problem clearer and emphasizes the area of the analyst's judgment.