A systematic literature review on multi-criteria decision making in higher education

Abstract

The three components that form the basis of the educational process are the teacher, the learner, and the environment. These three components are affected by the developing and changing technology as a result of globalization considerably. Teaching and learning techniques should be updated and connected with these developments; new tools are therefore needed to make the necessary updates. Determination and application of the new tools include many decisions. Decision-makers can make more effective decisions using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Techniques (MCDM), a complex decision-making tool that includes both quantitative and qualitative factors at present time. This study aimed to determine which MCDM methods are used in studies conducted in higher education, which is one of the most important development level indicators of countries, and to present a systematic literature review of MCDM method applications. The study was conducted in three stages: first, known electronics were searched until the end of 2021 using keywords; then, all studies were listed in a systematic taxonomy, and in the last stage, Thematic Network Analysis was used to evaluate the development of MCDM studies in the higher education area. It is determined that the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method is the most widely used method in higher education in MCDM applications. It was observed that the most common use of MCDM applications in higher education is e-learning as well. This study aims to be a guide for all researchers and practitioners who will study in both higher education and the MCDM areas.