| Previous research indicates that decision makers are often reluctant to use multicriteria decision aids. The current research investigates the acceptability, validity and appropriateness of multicriteria decision making (MCDM) methods for large-scale water resources planning and ecosystem restoration. An experiment is conducted using 38 decision makers currently engaged in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). Decision makers apply and evaluate direct and indirect weighting methods. Direct methods include ranking, and a version of the swing-weight method. Although direct methods exhibit convergence, carry-over bias seems to exaggerate between-method similarities. Direct methods produce significantly different results than indirect methods. Between-method and between-person differences are significantly different for direct versus indirect methods, supporting previous research results. Self reports are used to assess the appropriateness and acceptability of MCDM methods. Despite experimental limitations, decision makers agree that direct methods help them to think more clearly about their values, felt the methods could assist in clarifying stakeholder issues and plan refinements, and would recommend the use of MCDM methods for water resources planning and ecosystem restoration. |
