Patent ID: 7552141

Claim:
A method for evaluating a plurality of options comprising the steps of: a) selecting and accessing type 1 databases, DB 1 i , each of said selected databases DB 1 i including at least one option rating, OR i (x,n), for one of said options, x, with respect to a dimension n, where said option x can differ among said selected databases; b) selecting and accessing type 2 databases DB 2 j , each of said type 2 databases DB 2 j including at least one database rating DR j (i) for at least one of said databases DB 1 i ; c) associating weights, W i with said databases DB 1 i , said weights W i being calculated as a function of said database ratings DR j (i); and d) calculating an overall rating R(m,n) for an option m with respect to said dimension n as a function of said weights W i and option ratings OR i (m,n); e) repeating step d for each remaining one of said options for which there exists at least one option rating with respect to said dimension n; and f) generating a list of said options and associated overall ratings with respect to dimension n.