Definition. Pairwise comparison observation [ftip-002L]

Restrict attention to a comparison for which the judge selects one displayed alternative rather than reporting indifference or incomparability. For a query \(c=(x,y^0,y^1)\) and a judge \(j\), a pairwise comparison observation is the displayed pair together with the judge's selected alternative. In winner--loser notation it is recorded as

\[ o=(x,y^+,y^-,j). \]

The observation reports a choice made under the declared presentation and query procedure. It does not by itself provide a numerical reward, a complete ranking of responses, or a judgment about alternatives that were not shown.