Preferential reducts and constructs in robust multiple criteria ranking and sorting

We revisit the multiple criteria ranking and sorting methods based on ordinal regression, which accept preference information in the form of, respectively, pairwise comparisons or assignment examples for some reference alternatives. Robust ordinal regression methods consider the whole set of value functions reproducing these holistic statements provided at the input. Its impact on the recommendation is expressed in terms of the necessary and possible preference relations or assignments. We propose methods for generating explanations of this impact, showing pieces of preference information provided by the decision maker (DM), which led to the observed outcomes. In particular, the minimal set of preference information pieces, called preferential reduct, is identified to justify some result observable for the whole set of compatible value functions (e.g., the truth of the necessary relation for some pair of alternatives). Further, the maximal set of preference information pieces, called preferential construct, is discovered to reveal the conditions under which some result non-observable for the whole set of compatible value functions (e.g., the falsity of the possible relation for some pair of alternatives) is possible. Knowing such explanations, the DM can better understand the impact of each piece of preference information on the result and, in consequence, get conviction about the obtained recommendation.