title: [Taxonomy and typology: are they really synonymous?].
abstract: Typology and taxonomy constructions are increasingly used as a method of analysis in health services and public health research. Although taxonomy and typology have different definitions in the dictionary, these terms are often used synonymously. The objective of this paper is to propose a theoretical framework derived from organizational theory in which the concepts of taxonomy and typology are clearly defined. The configurational approach emerged in the 1980s. It is designed to analyse the elements constituting an entity under study as a whole and not in isolation. In this approach, conceptually developed configurations are defined as typologies, while empirically derived configurations are defined as taxonomies. Based on this theoretical framework, taxonomies are used much more often than typologies in the scientific literature in the field of public health. Taxonomies can process large sets of multidimensional variables by generating relatively homogeneous groups that take into account interactions between variables. Taxonomies are usually built from classification methods or factor analyses combined with a classification. In conclusion, this paper proposes a theoretical framework to differentiate typologies from taxonomies to provide public health stakeholders with a common language in relation to classifications. This article provides the basis for discussion of theoretical frameworks underlying the definition of these concepts.
authors.forename: Roxane
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Borgès Da Silva
mesh_terms: D002965:Classification; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health