Mattson

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Category: Consensus Methods
Published on Thursday, 27 September 2012 04:49
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The Mattson method was the first consensus method used in land Search and Rescue.  It is named after it's creator, R. J. Mattson who first published it in the Spring 1976 issue of Search and Rescue Magazine.  This is where the concept of determining the Probability of Area using a consensus of experts was first conceived.  

Usage

A Mattson calculator written with Microsoft Excel 2010 is available for download here.  Each evaluator is allotted 100 points.  These points are to be assigned to the search areas as the evaluator deems appropriate.  Higher probability areas should get more points.  All 100 points must be used and no more than 100 points may be used by each evaluator.  The results are presented as POA in a percentage.  This is a good educational tool to get started with search theory, but more advanced methods are more commonly used nowadays.  

Comments   

 
#1 Charles Twardy 2014-02-21 17:14
I didn't know of the 1976 article, but he presented at the 1979 NATO conference. The PDF is available online.
Mattson, Robert J. 1980. “Establishing Search Priorities.” In Search Theory and Applications, edited by K. Brian Haley and Lawrence D. Stone, 93–97. NATO Conference Series 8. Springer US. http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4615-9188-7_7.
 

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