005 - El Estado del arte - Metodología de la Investigación

The state of the art is a type of documentary research that allows for the study of accumulated knowledge (written in texts) within a specific area. Its origins date back to the 1980s, when it was used as a tool to compile and systematize information, especially in the social sciences. However, as these studies were conducted to assess research trends and as a starting point for decision-making, the state of the art became established as a research methodology for research itself. Today, it is generally considered that the state of the art can be approached from three fundamental perspectives. Regardless of the approach taken, its implementation involves developing a methodology summarized in three main steps: contextualization, classification, and categorization. These are complemented by an additional phase that allows for the structural integration of the state of the art, that is, conducting the analysis (synonymous with research). In this way, it can be seen that the creation of state-of-the-art reviews allows for the circulation of information, generates a demand for knowledge, and establishes comparisons with other parallel knowledge, offering different possibilities for understanding the problem addressed; since it provides more than one alternative for study.