2. Background

Consensus scoring has emerged as a crucial approach in decision-making processes where multiple criteria or scoring methods need to be considered simultaneously. Traditional approaches often rely on simple averaging or weighted sums, but these methods can fail to capture the complexity and nuances of multi-criteria data. The field has evolved to incorporate more sophisticated mathematical frameworks, including outranking methods, utility theory, and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). These advanced approaches have shown particular promise in scientific applications, where they can help identify optimal candidates from large datasets scored across multiple, potentially conflicting criteria. The need for accessible, well-documented implementations of these methods led to the development of VoteM8, which brings together classical and modern consensus scoring approaches in a single, user-friendly package.