ABSTRACT
In this chapter, author provide a systems approach to practice-based research motivated by the paradigm of cumulative scientific progress. This process aims at continuously building knowledge, explaining why and how things work, and providing crucial insights for improving processes and solving practice problems. This demands a systems perspective on practice, where many decision-makers interact in the system, not always pursuing common goals. This chapter takes advantage of advances in areas of causal inference, in particular structural causal models. The importance of contextualization of treatment and causal effects points to the benefits of theory-based causal models that unify the focus on effectiveness with the causally explanatory nature of structural models. Practice-based research originates in the practice space and is driven by practical issues that are of importance in real-world contexts.
