multi attribute decision making

One of the challenges faced by managers in the field of social networks in virtual space is the lack of understanding of the reasons for the decrease or increase in the number of users across various social networks in cyberspace. Despite the appropriate capabilities of some domestic social networks, their popularity is much lower compared to foreign-based networks. Research conducted in the field of social networks has mainly focused on pathology and the identification of positive and negative effects. Additionally, most of these studies have been conducted on foreign social networks such as Instagram. On the other hand, the research has only focused on certain factors and has not taken a comprehensive look at all the effective factors. The main question of the current research is: What are the most important factors affecting the use of internal social networks in Iran's virtual space?

The primary goal of this research is to identify and prioritize the factors affecting the use of internal social networks in Iran's virtual space. To achieve this, fuzzy Delphi, best-worst fuzzy, and COCOSO methods were employed to rank these factors. All three methods are part of quantitative techniques and utilize judgmental quantitative data for analysis and prioritization. The fuzzy Delphi method was used to screen the research factors, while the COCOSO technique was employed to rank the factors affecting the use of internal social networks in Iran's virtual space. The weight of the evaluation indicators for the research factors was also calculated using the fuzzy best-worst technique. Due to the quantitative nature of the techniques used in this research, it adopts a multi-method quantitative methodology. Furthermore, given the practical implications of the research findings for internal social networks, this study has a practical orientation. Data were collected using two interview tools and a questionnaire. Factors affecting the use of internal social networks were extracted from an analytical review of studies on social media and social networks. Subsequently, to evaluate these factors, three questionnaires—fuzzy screening, pairwise comparison, and COCOSO priority assessment—were distributed among experts. Screening questionnaires were evaluated using the fuzzy Delphi method; pairwise comparison questionnaires were assessed with the best-worst fuzzy method, and priority evaluation questionnaires were analyzed using the COCOSO method.

The present research was conducted in three stages. In the first step, 24 factors were extracted through literature review and interviews with experts. In the next step, these factors were screened by distributing expert questionnaires and employing the fuzzy Delphi method. Eight factors had a defuzzified score higher than 0.7 and were selected for final ranking. Finally, the screened factors were ranked through the distribution of priority questionnaires and the COCOSO method. The prioritized factors included: the variety of services provided by the social network, users' trust in the social network, users' privacy and security, and social networks' monetization policies.

The current research seeks to identify and prioritize factors affecting the use of internal social networks in Iran. Most of the research conducted in this field pertains to foreign social networks such as Instagram. Conversely, previous studies have only considered certain variables, and the factors have not been comprehensively investigated and evaluated. The present research was conducted in three stages. In the first step, 24 factors were extracted through literature review and interviews with experts. The interviews with some experts were conducted to enrich the list prepared from the literature. Despite utilizing qualitative methods for thematic analysis, since most of the methods employed in this research were quantitative in nature, it is classified as a quantitative study in terms of methodology. Seven factors were added to this list by experts. Eight factors were in good condition in terms of their defuzzified scores and were selected for final ranking. The screened factors were evaluated and ranked using the COCOSO method. According to the scores of the final factors, the diversity of services provided by the desired social network, users' trust in the desired social network, users' privacy and security, and the social network's income generation policies were prioritized, respectively. Practical research proposals were developed based on the most important factors. Some practical suggestions include developing a specific business model, gaining users' trust, establishing regulations, creating a specific revenue plan, and paying attention to technology ethics.

In this paper, inspired by a real case study, a hierarchical approach is presented for supplier development and supporting its critical decisions in each stage. Supplies needing development and their eligible suppliers for development are first identified using the best-worst multi-criteria decision-making method. The related decision criteria are selected based on the literature review and subjective opinions of procurement experts. Finally, a bi-objective mathematical model is proposed for selecting and allocating candidate development plans to each candidate supplier. The objectives of the proposed model include maximizing the degree of achievement of the development goals of the buyer and maximizing the net present value of the development plans’ portfolio (i.e. the selected development plans for eligible suppliers). The computational results and derived managerial insights demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed approach and its ability to support supplier development decisions for the buyer.

In the last four decades, multi-attribute decision-making has always been an active field of research and application. So far, the focus has been developing or applying multi-attribute decision-making techniques to rank existing options. However, multi-attribute decision-making is not limited to this type of problem and also includes sorting problems. This study proposes a hybrid approach of linear goal programming-based best-worst and multi-attribute sorting methods to form a stock portfolio in the Tehran Stock Exchange. In this study, the weights of the attributes affecting the stock portfolio selection were determined using the linear goal programming-based best-worst method. Then, the stock portfolio was formed using the proposed multi-attribute sorting method. The proposed method can consider decision-maker preferences such as the range of stocks in the portfolio or the maximum number of stocks in each industry. The results obtained from the proposed method were compared with TOPSIS-Sort and VIKOR-Sort methods. The results showed the high accuracy of the proposed method, and the stock portfolio formed by the proposed method was significantly more profitable than other methods. The proposed approach in this research can be applied to different real-world sorting problems.

Today, despite many benefits of cloud computing technology, including cost savings, agility, increased flexibility and scalability the issue of information security is the main obstacle to the tendency of organizations towards cloud computing. In addition to infrastructure issues and political factors in Iran, there are many security risks in cloud computing technology. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to extract and rank these security risks. In this regard, by studying the theoretical foundations related to the research topic, these factors are extracted and categorized according to the opinion of experts, and then by designing questionnaires of different pairwise comparisons, collecting comments and combining different weighting methods based on pairwise comparisons by Copeland aggregation method, security risks were ranked. In this ranking, data privacy risk was the first priority of cloud computing security risks.

The protection of historical, cultural and natural heritage is a vital necessity in the present era. Carrying this operation out has great enconomic, social and cultural benefits that will play a role as an effective factor to establish sustainable development. In the current years, Iran follows the development prospects programs to expand its non oil industries such as cultural heritage industry that will play an important role in the sustainable development, and decrease its maladaptive and humongous dependence on oil export revenue. Since protection of historical remains and preservation of heritage of the Iranian civilization is a public duty, boosting public participation in the safekeeping process would be highly effective in protection and sustainable prosperity of the aforementioned heritages. As sustainable development is a multidisciplinary paradigm, a multi-attribute decision making approach is needed. The current study, implements a combination of hierarchical structure and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to respectively obtain the significance of sustainable development’s attributes, and the options of maximizing the public's involvement. Based on the results, protection of natural resources and use of the various potentials of the social networks was the most important attribute and option, respectively. Due to relative sustainability of the ranking lists after performing the sensitivity analysis, it could be concluded that the decision making process was done properly. Hence, this approach is recommended for other managerial and conservation issues in different fields of civil engineering and architecture.

The purpose of this study is to rank public libraries in Khorasan Razavi province based on Multi Attribute Decision Making Method.

The study was a descriptive survey. The sample consists of a total of 98 urban public libraries under the Iraninan foundation of public libraries in Khorasan Razavi, and 100 employees and librarians working in public libraries were chosen randomly. For collection data a checklist and a researcher made questionnaire were used. The questionnaire validity was verified by professionals and experts in the field of public libraries and the reliability of questionnaire was verified and confirmed through Cronbach alpha test and test-retest method.

The findings showed that the indicators in ranking public libraries through which the state of access to the libraries and collections, facility and speed of the process of membership were identified as important factors. And also overall indexes of human resources, access, services, acceptance, technology, space, equipment and resources were identified important indicators, respectively. The findings also showed that libraries of Shahid Bahonar Kakhk, Shahid Sayyad Shirazi Dargaz and Hasheminejad Bidokht were as high ranked libraries respectively. Meanwhile shohaday Mashhad, Beyt al Hoda Sabzevar and Nawab Safavi Mashhad libraries were at the bottom of the rankings list. The study showed that the rank of the majority of libraries (73 libraries) were lower than the foundation of public libraries ranking list. The results showed that there is no significant relationship between the scores of indicators used in this study. No consistency was found between the indicators of Iranian Foundation of pulic libraries and the proposed indictors used in this study.

It is not possible to achieve optimal scores in all evaluation indicators for a public library, and getting high scores in one evaluation indicator or more does not make it possible to identify a functioning library, so evaluating and rating public libraries should be based on multiple evaluation indicators and multi-indicator decision-making techniques that could be relevant in determining the ranking and effectiveness of a library. According to the results of the research, it is suggested that in the ranking of libraries, more attention should be paid to the quality indicators in the evaluation of libraries. It is also suggested that the decision makers of the Iranian Foundation of public libraries get the opinions of experts in public libraries, professors of information science and specialized librarians the field for collecting important indicators to evaluate public libraries. In order to make more objectivity and realizing the rating of public libraries, this study tried to rank them according to management techniques such as TOPSIS

The rise of inequality and lack of attention to the countryside in recent decades has been the weakness and accelerating the destruction of the centers of settlement and create an imbalance within the area of space and one hand, the flow of services, capital, information and population towards urban centers, addition encounter of rural settlements with maximum extent of poverty, inequality and backwardness double in comparison to other population centers, Have necessitated the need for Spatial Planning in rural areas than before. Therefore, present study was conducted to assess rural development in the municipalities of the County of Qazvin, Is an applied research which is carried out using fuzzy MADM methods. The research method is descriptive and analytical, the data gathering method is library and collected according to research objectives based on data and General Population and Housing Census statistics tables and forms common (In particular the Statistical Yearbook of 2011 Qazvin Province). The statistical population of whole the Rural districts in Qazvin County has to assess the level of their development, 76 components in the form of development indicators, from official statistics Bushehr Province extracted and was evaluated using the technique of Fuzzy VIKOR. The findings of research analysis outlining a regional space Rural inequality County of Qazvin and unfair allocation of resources and rural services, Showed that a total of indicators, the Rural districts in Iqbal sharghi and Iqbal gharbi, has the highest rate of development and the rural district of Alamut paiin, Khandan and Alamut bala , Have the lowest rural development. In the end, to eliminate regional imbalances and social justice in rural areas of Qazvin County, Practical recommendations were presented and determine development priorities in separate rural district.

Recognizing and explore the possibility and bottlenecks, an essential first step in the planning process is the rural areas development. In this respect, determining optimal points for the establishment of service centers and measure the degree of rural areas development is of special importance; which often done using quantitative methods. This study conducted using AHP method to select the best points for the establishment of service centers in the Gheizanieh rural district of Ahvaz township; then methods multiple attribute decision making of compensation as well as integrated collection were used to determine the degree of rural development mentioned rural district. This research in terms of nature and method of descriptive and analytical, in terms of purpose is practical researches. Data collection was conducted in two ways: completing the questionnaires of 30 expert rural affairs and general population and housing census data in the year 1390. Data analysis was conducted on the ArcGIS10.3 and software Expert Choice, Excel and Visual Promethee. The results show which between parameters selected study, population density criterion of 0.261 percent, most points allocated as well as access to infrastructure measures, access to health and care services and access to means of communication and transportation are important in later stages. Map overlap criteria, indicates that two villages, nearly four percent of the study area in a very suitable position, two percent in the suitable position, about 32 percent of the moderately suitable, about 52 percent in the range unfavorable and about 10 percent of the study area located also quite unsuitable position to establish of optimal rural service centers. Thus, the two villages Nezheh and Gheizanieh Bozorg as the most developed rural district, has the greatest potential for creating service centers at the district level were detected.

Desertification is one the main problems of arid and semi-arid ecosystems in the world. The rapid growth of human population and excessive exploitation of resources have exacerbated the negative consequences of this phenomenon, such as poverty, diseases and human growth inequalities. So, In order to control and reduce desertification, presenting important strategies based on all the effective factors is necessary. This paper aims to provide a systematic and optimal de-desertification approach in a group decision-making model. For this aim, within the framework of multi-attribute decision-making procedure, a decision matrix was obtained by Delphi method. Then, the approach priority was determined by principal factor analysis. Based on the results, among 40 investigated strategies and 16 criteria, the strategies of development and reclamation of plant cover (A23), change of irrigation patterns (A33), prevention of improper change in land use (A18), and control of using groundwater sources (A31) were selected with the priority rates of 0.6122, 0.5102 and 0.4391 respectively. Thereby, they were introduced as the most important strategies to deal with desertification in the study area. The results and the ranks obtained in this study can be considered in projects of controlling or reducing the effects of desertification and in the plans for rehabilitation of degraded lands.

The different rate of having in factors, including natural, economic, social and political factors, causes or increases regional inequality. Attention to balanced and all-embracing development approach in the provinces, reducing inhomogeneity and inequality, and creating territorial justice, policy and planning for the realization of goals that vary with regard to the structural features, facilities and constraints of each province, requires studying and recognizing the characteristics of each province according to its position in the whole country. In this research, the status of different provinces of the country in the fileds of "social, cultural and economic", "economic and productive" and "infrastructure and technology" were reviewed and compared, in terms of development and progress, by K-means as one of the Clustering Analysis methods. The results of the ranking of the province indicate different positions of the provinces. By determining the level of progress of the province at the five levels, the priorities of the provinces are determined. For example, while the province of Isfahan is classified as a developd province for its infrastructure, it is a developing province in the economic and social indicators. Or Tehran province, while it is a developed province in the infrastructural and economic indicators, it is an undeveloped province, in the social indicators, at the same time.

One of the most known subjects in management literature is performance assessment. In this paper, we have tried to provide a hybrid model in order to evaluate the performance of Iranian gas Transmission Company's operational zones. After an initial screening, due to the low number of Decision making units, different combination of two input and one output are defined. 6 inputs and 4 output criteria have been chosen in initial screening. Based on the experts' judgments, weights or importance of different combinations of input and output extracted using SWARA technique. Then, based on the 22 different combinations, we calculated operational zones efficiency using DEA in the form of CCR and BCC models. In fact for each combination of two input and one output, efficiency for each operational zone has been calculated. Finally, there has been a decision matrix which its’ criteria were equal to different combinations of input and output criteria and their weights gained by SWARA and scores within the matrix were equal to taken efficiency from DEA. In order to calculate final efficiency and prioritizing each operational zone WASPAS technique is used. We use Cohen's kappa coefficient in order to prioritizing validation. The results show that zones 10, 7 and 6 with the highest efficiencies can be appropriate pattern for other zones in resource saving.

Today, the diversity of human needs as well as increased competition has led organizations to develop new products. Also because of the importance of environmental issues, it is important to focus on green product development. The purpose of this study is to identify factors affecting the development of green product in tile and ceramic industry of Yazd, to investigate criteria ratings, and finally to design a model for the development of green products. The statistical population of current study is part of tile industry experts in Yazd province. In this research, while studying valid Persian and English articles related to the subject (library method), experts' opinions were also employed through a questionnaire. According to the research background as well as the experts' opinion polls, 40 factors were identified as effective factors and 7 criteria were identified as ranking criteria. The top 10 factors are then chosen using statistic tests and multiple attribute decision making (MADM) techniques such as Taxonomy and Entropy. Finally, a model is suggested for producing green products in tile and ceramic industry of Yazd using interpretive structural modeling. Items like assessing suppliers from the perspective of environmental issues, the possibility of reusing and recycling of waste, green packaging and differentiation by producing new products are placed at the top of this model

This article aims to provide a framework to facilitate the decision-making process of choosing a suitable spouse. In this article, at first, the criteria for choosing a spouse were extracted from the papers. Then, these criteria were given to a number of students and counselors in this field in the form of the Borda count method. Finally, the final list of the criteria was determined. It was tried to make this process more structured by using the dynamic fuzzy gray relational analysis (GRA) as a multi-attribute decision making method. The findings of this study show that self-confidence and mental and physical health of the spouse are the most important criteria for choosing a spouse. Furthermore, being with family, having a good family background and having good financial future also have a high weight among the criteria. Since the process of choosing spouse is a personal decision,the designed process has been applied to a real-world case study. Designed process can make decision for young people in such a difficult decision situation and help them in the final decision. Applying the designed framework to other real situations can explain the extent to which the outcomes of the research are valid.

Minimization of costs and maximization of product quality are key factors for success in a supply chain network (SCN).The SCN is considered four echelons: suppliers, middle assemblers, final assembler and retailers that supply a single type product consists of four components. In this paper in addition to the supplier selection, the assemblers and warehouses are selected. The assembly process of the products such as automobile, tractor, consist of multiple stage, therefore in this paper, the assemblers are divided in two groups: multiple middle assemblers (which assemble the component of the product), a final assembler (assembles the final product). In this paper an integrated approach for middle assemblers selection based on multi attribute decision making (MADM) and suppliers selection based on multi objective decision making (MODM) is proposed. First the weight of the attributes (cost, quality, delivered time and warranty) is determined by ENTROPY method and then the middle assemblers are selected by TOPSIS method. The model consists of two minimization of costs and maximization of quality which is solved by CHEBYSHEV goal programming to select suppliers. Application of proposed method is shown by numerical example and optimal solutions have been compared considering one objective and two objectives.

The aim of this study is to propose a synthetic approach including Clustering and UTADIS models to form a profitable investment portfolio.

In this research, securities are clustered using K-means method and the ideal number of clusters is determined through certain validation indexes. The results obtained from the Clustering method were used as the input data for the UTADIS model and the securities were classified by UTADIS. After solving the primary model, in order to achieve better resulst, a post-optimality analysis was performed and the classification validity test and the classification error tests were carried out.

After reviewing previous studies in this field and carrying out a survey of professionals from the financial industry, eight key attributes including capital return, beta coefficient, net profit margin, BV/MV, ROA, ROE, P/E and EPS were identified. The investment portfolio consists of Iran tele companies, Khark Petrochemical, Shazand Petrochemical, Fanavaran Petrochemical, Information services, Iran refract, Khouzestan steel, and Iran zinc mines.

The results of study showed that the proposed framework has created a profitable portfolio and capital return is the most important attribute in stock portfolio selection.

Considering the fact that one of the main indicators to measure spatial justice in a geographic area, undoubtedly, a fair and equal distribution services. If the distribution of rural services does not commensurate with the needs of residents, will cause a lot of problems in the regional system.  Therefore, the problem of this research will form the mainstream is an “assessment of spatial justice in the distribution of public services in rural district Mosherehat of Ahvaz”.

This study from to goal is a kind of theoretical research, application and in terms of the nature and method of analysis and description. Data collection was carried out in two forms questionnaires completed by 30 expert rural affairs and population and housing census data reveals of 1390. Used software is included Expert Choice and ArcGIS10.4.1. In this study, we used the analytical hierarchy process to determine of criteria importance coefficients and from multiple attribute decision making Methods; for example, topsis, electre, vikor, promethee and integrated collection; such as, the average rank, borda, copeland and finally post, to assess spatial equity in the distribution of public services was discussed.

Reviews in this study indicate that between selected criteria in this important, sanitary and therapeutic indexes allocated the maximum amount, for example, 0/163 to, and criteria education and culture, distance from the city of Ahvaz and also agriculture index.

Respectively, on the next level are the highest value and importance with scores 0/163, 0/133, 0/124 and 0/120. That between the 20 rural points of the rural district located three villages in absolutely perfect condition, one village an appropriate condition, three villages in moderately suitable The condition, four village unsuitable conditions, and nine villages in absolutely unsuitable condition. Thus, the village of Istgahe Khosravi as the most developed village of rural the district has known the greatest potential for creating service centers in the region.

By developing information technology and emerging online markets, planning for these markets and analyzing their details has become a priority for beneficiary organizations. One of the most important online markets in Iran is SIM card credit services that are considered as online stores. Regarding numerous and increasing number of online malls, grouping and classification of online malls from the supplier's point of view is essential to forecast cooperation. In this paper, around three thousand online stores have been studied and analyzed by using the data from one of famous suppliers and they have been clustered according to supplier's indexes. Clustering process has been done using SOM Neural Network in two levels by K-means algorithm since it facilitates analysis of clusters. Although various validation indicators have been developed to determine the best number of clusters. In this paper, an optimizing model of compensatory approach to indexes is presented through combination of multi criteria decision making and aggregation of various indexes.

Today's business environment has caused a high level of uncertainty and turbulent behavior in supply chain. Suppliers in most cases are the main sources of external risks which provide widespread levels of disruptions in supply chains. For that reason, suitable and resilience supplier selection can significantly reduce purchasing costs and lead times and increase the business continuity in case of disruptions and to comply with this, the enterprise's competitiveness and customer satisfaction. The aim of this study is Identification and prioritization of suppliers’ resiliency criteria at Avrand's Industrial Group supply chain by using combination of Fuzzy Delphi and BWM as a new MADM method. The results showed that agility, redundancy, and visibility respectively are the most important criteria in evaluating resiliency of Avrand's suppliers. Finally, based on the results of this research, some implementation and research recommendations were provided.

A composite indicator refers to an index derived from some specific individual indicators for measuring the aggregated performance of a multi-dimensional issue. A major problem for constructing the composite indicator of development is the determination of an appropriate aggregating method to combine multi-dimensional development indicators into an overall index. Therefore, strongly, the usefulness of a composite indicator depends heavily on the underlying construction scheme. Construction on a composite indicator involves the definition of study scope, selection of underlying variables, data collection and preprocessing, data weighting and aggregation, and post analysis of the composite indicator derived, among which data weighting and aggregation has been an interesting but controversial topic (Esty et al. 2005). At the stage of data (weighting and) aggregation, there are two major families of operations research methods, namely data envelopment analysis (DEA) and multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA), which have recently received much attention in composite indicator construction (Zhou and Ang 2008). While there are a large number of alternative methods for constructing composite indicator, none could be regarded as a ‘super method’ suitable for all cases. As a result, researchers have developed a large number of criteria, such as theoretical foundation, understandability, ease of use and validity, which are helpful to analysts for the selection of an appropriate method for constructing composite indicator. Zhou et al. (2006) introduced a novel criterion ‘‘information loss’’ and developed an objective measure called the Shannon-Spearman measure (SSM) for comparing aggregation methods in constructing composite indicator. This research investigates the effectiveness of the Shannon-Spearman measure (Zhou and Ang, 2009) and compares several popular methods in constructing composite indicator. This research aimed to compare aggregating methods for constructing the composite index of regional development. There are many criteria for comparing aggregating methods of composite indicator. Based on the information loss concept this research was used the Shannon-Spearman measure (SSM), Spearman correlation coefficient and Coefficient of Variation (CV) to compare alternative aggregation methods in constructing composite indicator. Using the proposed measure, five popular methods in constructing composite indicator (SAW, TOPSIS, revised PCA, Taxonomy and revised Optimum Deviation) are evaluated and compared through an empirical study based on information from 17 indicators of economic development for 31 Iranian provinces. To collect data, census of 20011 and yearbook in different time was used. Since different sub-indicators are likely to have different measurement units, normalization is usually done before data aggregation. Weight of individual indicators exploited from Antropy-Shanon and PCA techniques. The five aggregations methods are applied to the 31 Iranian provinces based on 17 individual economic indicators. Results demonstrated that different aggregation methods tend to give different composite indicator and even different ranking orders. However Tehran, Khozestan, Esfahan and Razavi Khorasan are considered by almost most the aggregation methods as better performers in economic development. Moreover North and South Khorasan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Lorestan, Ardabil and Chaharmahal Bakhtiari are ranked in least position by almost most the aggregation methods. We shall apply the Shannon-Spearman measure to evaluate the five alternative methods in constructing composite indicator in a more comprehensive way. Results of calculated the Shannon-Spearman measure revealed that TOPSIS method has the smallest value while the Taxonomy and Optimum Deviation method have the largest the Shannon-Spearman measure value. This indicates that the TOPSIS method is the most appropriate with regards to the information loss criterion. In contrast, the Taxonomy and Optimum Deviation method may not be a good choice because it often results in the maximum loss of information. It is also found that except TOPSIS, other four methods are highly correlated with each other. This indicates that different methods are complementary to each other. Based on information from five composite indicator development level of province were classified through cluster analysis. The spatial pattern is divided into six clusters: Tehran (cluster 1-1), Khozestan (cluster 1-2), Esfahan (cluster 2-1) and other province (cluster 2-2). Recent cluster include two sub-clusters sub-cluster (2-2-1) contain 10 provinces and sub-cluster (2-2-2) contain 18 provinces which were in low development level. These results indicate that the gap between the economic development of provinces and has been emphasized in several studies. In recent years, different methods have been widely explored in constructing composite indicators. A problem faced by researchers is to determine the most suitable method to apply. Zhou et al. (2006) developed an empirical criterion called the Shannon-Spearman measure for comparing alternative aggregation methods in constructing composite indicators based on the concept of information loss. This paper applies the Shannon-Spearman measure, spearman correlation coefficient and coefficient of variation (CV) to assess the effectiveness of the different method of constructing composite indicators in practice. Results demonstrates that the Shannon-Spearman measure could be an effective measure for comparing aggregation methods in constructing of composite indicators. The case studies presented show that the TOPSIS method is the most appropriate with regards to the information loss criterion. In contrast, the Taxonomy and revised Optimum Deviation method may not be a good choice because it often results in the maximum loss of information. It is also found that the different methods are complementary to each other. Some recommendations are provided include: Decentralization policy and make more attention to less developed province such Sistan and Baluchestan, Lorestan, Ardabil, Chaharmahal Bakhtiari, South Khorasn and North Khorasan. Appling Shannon-Spearman measure in different indicator and for other composite indicators methods in the future research should be considered. The application of quantitative methods more cautious should be considered and fitted with the regional facts. Future research is needed especially its sensitivity should be evaluated when the numbers of compared units are changing. Moreover it should be noted that different ranking caused from nature of individual indicator, weighing method, normalization and aggregating methods. The results of each method is complementary to other methods and simultaneously use and compare them often a better guide for the assessment of regional development. As well as other aspects of development through the use of socio-economic indicators and measures proposed in this research is recommended in future works. Finally, this research is not able to judge which method is the most appropriate since these results are obtained based on a specific decision matrix.