[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# Critical Systems Heuristics

Gates E, Muñiz R, 2023, Journal of Systems Thinking 3(1):1-13 — Systems Science

Patterns: [Distinctions](https://dsrpevidence.org/pattern/distinctions), [Perspectives](https://dsrpevidence.org/pattern/perspectives)

## In short

Introduces critical systems heuristics, a set of questions for deciding what a study or intervention includes and leaves out, with recent examples from Colombia and New Zealand.

## What they found (results)

Boundaries inevitably decide what is included and excluded — with practical, political, and ethical consequences — and CSH makes that boundary-setting explicit and criticizable, illustrated from Colombia and New Zealand.

## What they set out to do (purpose)

A chapter introducing Critical Systems Heuristics: a framework of questions, in "what is" and "what should be" modes, for setting and resetting boundaries in any inquiry, intervention, or evaluation.

## Abstract

It is not possible to examine a situation or system of interest in its entirety or from all possible perspectives. Boundaries inevitably determine what is included and excluded, which can have practical, political, and ethical consequences. Critical systems heuristics (CSH) offers a framework of questions posed in descriptive (what is) and normative (what should be) modes that can inform boundary setting and resetting in any inquiry, intervention, or evaluation. This chapter first introduces CSH and its early developments and influences. The next section highlights recent examples on the use of CSH from Colombia and New Zealand. The subsequent section identifies several open questions regarding CSH and its applicability. The chapter concludes with reflections on future directions.

These researchers were not testing DSRP. The finding is theirs; the correspondence to DSRP is drawn by this site.

[Source](https://doi.org/10.54120/jost.0000020)