tipologias

Tipologias is the Spanish term for typologies, the systematic classification of items into discrete types based on shared characteristics. The word combines tipología (typology) with the plural suffix -as. In scholarly use, typology is a methodological approach rather than a fixed taxonomy, designed to reveal patterns, contrasts, and evolutionary trajectories across a domain.

Typologies are constructed by selecting relevant criteria and coding observations into categories that are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive within the scope of the study. They aim to simplify complex reality, support comparison, and facilitate theory building. Unlike a strict taxonomy, which emphasizes hierarchical relationships, typologies organize phenomena by type or function, often ignoring subordinate or overlapping categories.

Typologies appear across disciplines. In archaeology, ceramic typologies classify vessels by shape, decoration, and manufacturing marks. In linguistics, phonological and syntactic typologies compare language systems. In architecture and urban planning, housing and street typologies describe common building forms and layouts. In sociology and anthropology, social typologies categorize patterns of behavior, kinship, or authority. In information science, typologies classify data and metadata into conceptual types for retrieval and analysis.

Critiques note that typologies can oversimplify, reflect researcher bias in criterion selection, and become outdated as cases change. Effective typological work foregrounds transparent criteria, explicit scope, and continuous revision.

See also: typology, taxonomy, classification, morphological typology.