How can analysts use multicriteria decision analysis?

Proper decision making in multifacitated situation is very challenging task. It is especially difficult if there are many alternatives and criteria that are often contradictory. Analytical chemistry and related sciences involve many situations where decisions on complex problems are made. The support tools may be the use of MCDA (Multi-criteria Decision Analysis) algorithms. They formalize the decision process, make it transparent in all its aspects. In this review the application of MCDA methods in analytical and some related sciences is presented. The main areas of utilization are selection of proper materials and selection or optimization of processes. Their potential areas of applications are far from being fully explored. This review provides useful insights into the MCDA methods usage in analytical chemistry field that can stimulate the application of these tools in complex decision making processes. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.