Monograph

A monograph is generally a work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, created by a single author or artist. Traditionally it is in written form and published as a book, but it may be an artwork, audiovisual work, or exhibition made up of visual artworks. In library cataloguing, the word has a specific and broader meaning, while in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration uses the term to mean a set of published standards.

Written works

Academic works

The English term monograph is derived from modern Latin monographia, which has its root in Greek. In the English word, mono- means 'single' and -graph means 'something written'.

Unlike a textbook, which surveys the state of knowledge in a field, the main purpose of a monograph is to present primary research and original scholarship. This research is presented at length, distinguishing a monograph from an article. For these reasons, publication of a monograph is commonly regarded as vital for career progression in many academic disciplines. Intended for other researchers and bought primarily by libraries, monographs are generally published as individual volumes in a short print run. In Britain and the U.S., what differentiates a scholarly monograph from an academic trade title varies by publisher, though generally it is the assumption that the readership has not only specialised or sophisticated knowledge but also professional interest in the subject of the work.

A written monograph is usually a specialist book on one topic, although its meaning has been broadened to include any works which are not reference works and which may be written by one or more authors, or an edited collection.

Library definition

In library cataloguing, monograph has a broader meaning: a non-serial publication complete in one volume (book) or a definite number of books. Thus it differs from a serial or periodical publication such as a magazine, academic journal, or newspaper. In this context only, books such as novels are considered monographs.

Types of monographs

Biology

In biological taxonomy, a monograph is a comprehensive treatment of a taxon in written form. Monographs typically review all known species within a group, add any newly discovered species, and collect and synthesize available information on the ecological associations, geographic distributions, and morphological variations within the group.

The first-ever monograph of a plant taxon was Robert Morison's 1672 Plantarum Umbelliferarum Distributio Nova, a treatment of the Apiaceae.

Art

Book publishers use the term "artist monograph" or "art monograph" to indicate books dealing with a single artist, as opposed to broader surveys of art subjects.

Film and multimedia

The term monograph is also used for audiovisual or film documentary-type representations of a subject, often creatively expressed. The term "monographic film" has also been used for short fiction or animated films.

Video or film essays on a single topic are also referred to as monographs.

IndyVinyl, by Scottish film academic Ian Garwood, is a monographic research project focused on "vinyl records in American independent cinema between 1987 and 2018". It includes an 8,000-word peer-reviewed academic book chapter; video compilations; "critical montages"; and a series of social media posts, all curated on a website. Garwood has written that his project is "an attempt to produce a research output equivalent to an academic monograph, but incorporating video-based forms of criticism that have been popularised through online film culture".

FDA usage

In the context of Food and Drug Administration regulation, monographs represent published standards by which the use of one or more substances is automatically authorized. For example, the following is an excerpt from the Federal Register: "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a final rule in the form of a final monograph establishing conditions under which over-the-counter (OTC) sunscreen drug products are generally recognized as safe and effective and not misbranded as part of FDA's ongoing review of OTC drug products." Such usage has given rise to the use of the word monograph as a verb, as in "this substance has been monographed by the FDA".

See also

• Compendium
• Compilation thesis
• Documentation
• Open access monograph
• Treatise

References

1. The explanation of 'monograph' and 'monogram' in Oxford Advanced Leaners' Dictionary (8th Ed.)
2. "The explanation of "monograph" in Online Etymology Dictionary". Retrieved 5 February 2021.
3. Williams, Peter; Stevenson, Iain; Nicholas, David; Watkinson, Anthony; Rowlands, Ian (2009). "The role and future of the monograph in arts and humanities research". ASLIB Proceedings. 61: 67–82. doi:10.1108/00012530910932294.
4. Thompson, John B. (2005). Books in the Digital Age: The Transformation of Academic and Higher Education Publishing in Britain and the United States. Cambridge: Polity Press. pp. 84–85. ISBN 978-0745634784 – via Internet Archive.
5. Campbell, Robert; Pentz, Ed; Borthwick, Ian (2012). Academic and Professional Publishing. Elsevier. ISBN 978-1-78063-309-1. '[M]onograph' has become a generic term for a book that is not of a reference type, is of primary material and which may be multi-authored, single-authored, or an edited collection.
6. Swendsrud, Kristen, ed. (2024). "Books and Other Monographs: Definitions". The CSE Manual (9th ed.). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226683942. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
7. Harrod, Leonard Montague (2005). Prytherch, Raymond John (ed.). Harrod's librarians' glossary and reference book: a directory of over 10,200 terms, organizations, projects and acronyms in the areas of information management, library science, publishing and archive management (10th ed.). Aldershot, Hampshire, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate. p. 462. Archived from the original on 3 September 2020 – via Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science. For the purpose of library cataloging, any nonserial publication, complete in one volume or intended to be completed in a finite number of parts issued at regular or irregular intervals, containing a single work or collection of works. Monographs are sometimes published in monographic series and subseries. Compare with book.
8. Vines, Sydney Howard (1913). "Robert Morison (1620–1683) and John Ray (1627–1705)". In Oliver, Francis Wall (ed.). Makers of British Botany. Cambridge University Press. p. 22 – via Wikisource.
9. "Artist Monographs Archives". Thames & Hudson Australia & New Zealand. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
10. "Artist monographs". MCA Store Museum of Contemporary Art. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
11. Nigro, Perry (6 July 2017). "Research Guides: *Art History: Art Monographs". Research Guides at Northwestern University. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
12. "MONOGRAPH: the new film format for firms". ISPLORA. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
13. "Cinema – Monographs". Les presses du réel. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
14. "Animation". Monographic Films (in Spanish). 20 May 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
15. "Monographs 2023". Asian Film Archive. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
16. "Monograph: Paul Rogers". PBS Short Film Festival. 15 July 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
17. "Monograph: Lo Harris". WETA. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
18. "From 'video essay' to 'video monograph'?: Indy Vinyl as academic book". NECSUS. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
19. "Indy Vinyl – Records in American Independent Cinema: 1987 to 2018". Indy Vinyl – Records in American Independent Cinema. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
20. "DOCID:fr21my99-6", Federal Register, Rules and Regulations, vol. 64, no. 98, pp. 27666–27693, 21 May 1999, archived from the original (TXT) on 1 February 2017