Media type: E-Article Title: On some aspects of data integration techniques with environmental applications Contributor: Sinha, Bikas K.; Shah, Kirti R. imprint: Wiley, 2003 Published in: Environmetrics Language: English DOI: 10.1002/env.595 ISSN: 1099-095X; 1180-4009 Keywords: Ecological Modeling ; Statistics and Probability Origination: Footnote: Description: <jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) is a popular phrase used to describe situations where there is a need for integration of the results of different studies to make an overall judgement. Among the highest priorities towards socioeconiomic development around the world is the Environmental Protection Policy (EPP), and environmental assessment is a key to EPP. In the context of environmental studies, data integration techniques are very appealing and have wider applicability. It is well known that land, air and water are the three sources for determination of the extent of pollution of different regions. The purpose of MCDM is to rank the regions wrt all the sources taken together. For any individual source of pollution, it is trivial to rank the regions from best to worst. However, the problem of integration becomes non‐trivial in most cases since the regions do not lend themselves to the same pattern of ranking wrt different sources. In this article we examine critically the performance of two popular composite indices (CI) and suggest some alternatives. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.</jats:p>