Learning Bayesian Networks: A Unification for Discrete and Gaussian Domains

Abstract

We examine Bayesian methods for learning Bayesian networks from a combination of prior knowledge and statistical data. In particular, we unify the approaches we presented at last year's conference for discrete and Gaussian domains. We derive a general Bayesian scoring metric, appropriate for both domains. We then use this metric in combination with well-known statistical facts about the Dirichlet and normal--Wishart distributions to derive our metrics for discrete and Gaussian domains.