| Scaling | meaning |
| 1 | Two factors compared to the same importance |
| 3 | Two factors, one factor is slightly more important than the other |
| 5 | Two factors compared to one factor are more important than the other |
| 7 | Two factors compared to one factor are more important than the other |
| 9 | Two factors compared to one factor are the most important |
| 2, 4, 6, 8 | The median of the two adjacent judgments |
| reciprocal | Factor i and j compared to bij, then the factor j and i compared bji = 1/bij |