A distance-based consensus measure for analyzing ternary preferences

Abstract

This paper introduces a novel method for analyzing survey data with ternary preferences, where alternatives are ranked from best to worst and classified as acceptable, neutral, or unacceptable. We propose a distance-based consensus measure and a procedure to estimate individual contributions to consensus. Using data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) annual survey on daily life, we analyze regional perceptions of significant problems, revealing key regional drivers of agreement and disagreement.