Paired Comparisons Modeling using t-Distribution with Bayesian Analysis

Abstract: A paired comparison analysis is the simplest way to make comparative judgments between objects where objects may be goods, services or skills. For a set of problems, this technique helps to choose the most important problem to solve first and/or provides the solution that will be the most effective. This paper presents the theory of paired comparisons method and contributes to the paired comparisons models by developing a new model based on t-distribution. The developed model is illustrated using a data set of citations among four famous journals of Statistics. Using Bayesian analysis, the journals are ranked as JRSS-B --> Biometrika --> JASA --> Comm. in Stats.