Monograph

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 the term is sometimes used loosely, with its meaning being broadened to include any works which are not reference works and which may be written by one or more authors, or an edited collection.

This broadened use of the term, however, does not affect the essential difference in academic publishing and assessment between an authored academic book (i.e., a traditional academic monograph) and an edited volume (i.e., a non-authored book). In the case of an academic monograph, it is a "a focused work of scholarship pitched at a relatively high level of intellectual sophistication", whose author (or authors) has carried out the research and written the text of the book. By contrast, the editor of an edited volume owns the copyright to the concept, structure and organization of the book, as well as any text he or she has authored, while the authors of the individual chapters retain the copyright to the text and content of the chapters they authored.

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.