Abstract
The SCOPUS and Wed of Science bibliometric databases were searched for papers related to the use of multi-criteria methods in civil engineering related disciplines. The results were analyzed for information on the reported geographical distribution of usage, the methods used, the application areas with most usage and the software tools used. There was a wide geographical distribution of usage with all northern hemisphere continents well represented. However, of the very many methods available, a small number seemed to dominate usage, with the Analytic Hierarchy Process being the most frequently used. The application areas represented in the documents found was not widely spread and mainly seemed to be focused on issues such as sustainability, environment, risk, safety and to some extent project management, with less usage on other areas. This may be due to individual engineer’s choices in relation to if and how to disseminate the results of their work and to their choice of keywords and titles that determine if their publications are selected in bibliographic searches and thus more visible to a wider readership. A comparison with more topic focused searches, relating to Bridge Design, Earthquake Engineering, Cladding, Sewage Treatment, Foundation design, Truss design, Water Supply, Building Energy, Route selection and Transport mode showed very different results. Analysis of the papers in this area indicated that the full range of supporting software available for multi-criteria decision analysis (many listed in this paper) may not be fully appreciated by potential users.
Highlights
The published technical literature is an important communications channel and here we investigate whether its use in disseminating information on Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) can be improved
The paper begins with (i) a short concise introduction setting out the background to MCDA, and (ii) a summary of previous surveys or comparisons of some MCDA methods related to civil engineering
There was an overlap of only 13 documents between the results of the search of SCOPUS and of Web of Science and this indicates the advisability of accessing multiple databases when conducting a literature review
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. In keeping with the theme of this Special Issue, the hypothesis examined in this paper is that such methods are underutilized in the disciplines normally associated with civil engineering, i.e., those relating to structures, transportation, geotechnics, environment, water, and waste This may be because information about the potential of these methods and about the tools available to implement them is not as widely known amongst practicing engineers, suggesting a communications lacuna. It is essential that civil engineers are familiar with the key methods and tools and this is assessed here based on technical publications on this topic
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