Abstract
In this paper, we propose a methodology for relevance analysis of performance indicators in higher education based on the use of Bayesian networks. These graphical models provide, at first glance, a snapshot of the relevant relationships among the variables under consideration. We analyse the behaviour of the proposed methodology in a practical case, showing that it is a useful tool to help decision making when elaborating policies based on performance indicators. The methodology has been implemented in a software that interacts with the Elvira package for graphical models, and that is available to the administration board at the University of Almería (Spain) through a web interface. The software also implements a new method for constructing composite indicators by using a Bayesian network regression model.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Castillo E, Gutiérrez J, Hadi A (1997) Expert systems and probabilistic network models. Springer, New York
Cooper G, Herskovits E (1992) A Bayesian method for the induction of probabilistic networks from data. Mach Learn 9: 309–347
Cuenin S (1987) The use of performance indicators in universities: an international survey. Int J Inst Manage High Educ 2: 117–139
Dochy F, Segers M, Wijnen W (1990) Selecting performance indicators. A proposal as a result of research. In: Goedegebuure F, Maasen F, Westerheijden D (eds). Lemma B.V. Peer review and performance indicators, pp 135–153
Elvira Consortium (2002) Elvira: an environment for creating and using probabilistic graphical models. In: Gámez JA, Salmerón A (eds). Proceedings of the First European Workshop on Probabilistic Graphical Models, pp. 222–230
Jensen FV (2001) Bayesian networks and decision graphs. Springer, New York
Jensen FV, Nielsen TD (2007) Bayesian networks and decision graphs. Second edition. Springer, New York
Jin R, Breitbart Y, Muoh C (2009) Data discretization unification. Knowl Inf Syst 19: 1–29
Madsen A, Jensen FV (1999) Lazy propagation: a junction tree inference algorithm based on lazy evaluation. Artif Intell 113: 203–245
Moral S, Rumí R, Salmerón A (2001) Mixtures of truncated exponentials in hybrid Bayesian networks. ECSQARU’01. Lect Notes Artif Intell 2143: 135–143
Morales M, Rodríguez C, Salmerón A (2007) Selective naive Bayes for regression using mixtures of truncated exponentials. Int J Uncertain, Fuzziness Knowl Based Syst 15: 697–716
Nardo M, Saisana M, Saltelli A, Tarantola S (2008) Handbook on constructing composite indicators: methodology and user guide. OECD, European Commission, Joint Research Centre
Nilsson D (1998) An efficient algorithm for finding the M most probable configurations in Bayesian networks. Stat Comput 9: 159–173
Qiu L, Li Y, Wu X (2008) Protecting business intelligence and customer privacy while outsourcing data mining tasks. Knowl Inf Syst 17: 99–120
Shenoy P, Shafer G (1990) Axioms for probability and belief function propagation. In: Shachter R, Levitt T, Lemmer J, Kanal L (eds) Uncertainty in artificial intelligence 4. North Holland, Amsterdam, pp 169–198
Spirtes P, Glymour C, Scheines R (1993) Causation, prediction and search. Series: lecture notes in statistics, vol. 81. Springer, New York
Wang Z, Wang Q, Wang D (2009) Bayesian network based business information retrieval model. Knowl Inf Syst 20: 63–79
Wu X, Kumar V, Quinlan J, Gosh J, Yang Q, Motoda H, McLachlan G, Ng A, Liu B, Yu P, Zhou Z, Steinbach M, Hand D, Steinberg D (2008) Top 10 algorithms in data mining. Knowl Inf Syst 14: 1–37
Zhang J, Kang D, Silvescu A, Honavar V (2006) Learning accurate and concise naïve Bayes classifiers from attribute value taxonomies and data. Knowl Inf Syst 9: 157–179
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fernández, A., Morales, M., Rodríguez, C. et al. A system for relevance analysis of performance indicators in higher education using Bayesian networks. Knowl Inf Syst 27, 327–344 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10115-010-0297-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10115-010-0297-9