ABSTRACT
Practice-based research (PBR) refers to scientific investigation conducted within natural practice settings. This chapter introduces PBR and details its many advantages for the mental health professions. Despite its benefits, many barriers to PBR activity exist including lack of institutional review board access, time and financial constraints, and inability to make use of an academic library. These obstacles frequently prevent or greatly reduce PBR activity because few professionals are trained to successfully negotiate them. A cataloging of barriers to PBR and an introduction to the subsequent chapters in this volume, which discuss strategies for surmounting them, are provided.
