Bibliometric Web of Science and Google Trends Analysis of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) within the Built Environment

Kyle Abbott Smith ^* Rubayet Bin Mostafiz Carol Friedland Isabelina Nahmens

• Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, United States

This research aims to leverage existing data sources to provide new insights into the usage of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) in the built environment without creating a new data collection process. To achieve this, the study utilized Google search engine data from Google Trends and academic literature metadata from Web of Science, which was analyzed using Bibliometrix via the Biblioshiny interface. These datasets were cross-referenced with original data collected from a Qualtrics delivered industry questionnaire to develop a more comprehensive understanding of MCDA adoption within the built environment. By integrating diverse data sources—academic publications, search engine trends, and industry responses—the research explores how MCDA methods are used across fields such as construction, urban planning, architecture, and engineering. This combined approach provides a multi-faceted perspective on the current state of MCDA usage, highlighting the gaps between academic focus, industry practices, and public interest. This research is focused upon built environment vocations, spanning the disciplines of architecture, construction management, urban planning, real estate, facilities management, and the numerous engineering domains that support capital projects. It presents a ranked list of MCDA methods used within the described built environment vocations in order of level of adoption. It presents Bibliometric outputs for MCDA methods studied within built environment academic papers and findings related to tool associations, such as GIS and drone based data collection, with MCDA methods. The paper presents evidence that MCDAs are more frequently used in association with environmental science and sustainability study applications in the built environment.