Scale a_ij	Definition
1	Factor i is equally important as Factor j
3	Factor i is slightly more important than Factor j
5	Factor i is relatively more important than Factor j
7	Factor i is very important compared to Factor j
9	Factor i is of paramount importance compared to Factor j
2 4 6 8	Factor i and Factor j are assigned intermediate-level importance ratings
Reciprocal	When comparing Factor j with Factor i and assessing the value as $a_{j i}$ , then $a_{j i} = \frac{1}{a_{i j}}$