Amonographis generally a work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, often created by a single author or artist. Traditionally it is in written form and published as a book, but it may be an artwork,audiovisualwork, or an exhibition made up ofvisual artworks.Inlibrary cataloguing,the word has a specific and broader meaning; while in the United States, theFood and Drug Administrationuses the term to mean a set of published standards.

Written works

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Academic works

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The English termmonographis derived from modernLatinmonographia,which has its root inGreek.[1]In the English word,mono-means'single'and-graphmeans'something written'.[2]

Unlike atextbook,which surveys the state of knowledge in a field, the main purpose of a monograph is to present primaryresearchand 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 shortprint run.[3]In Britain and the U.S., what differentiates a scholarly monograph from an academictrade titlevaries 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.[4]

A written monograph is usually a specialist book on one topic, although its meaning has been broadened to include any works which are notreference worksand which may be written by one or more authors, or an edited collection.[5]

Library definition

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Inlibrary cataloguing,monographhas a broader meaning: a non-serial publication complete in onevolume(book) or a definite number of books.[6]Thus it differs from a serial orperiodical publicationsuch as amagazine,academic journal,ornewspaper.[7]In this context only, books such asnovelsare considered monographs.

Types of monographs

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Biology

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Inbiological taxonomy,a monograph is a comprehensive treatment of ataxonin written form. Monographs typically review all knownspecieswithin 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 wasRobert Morison's 1672Plantarum Umbelliferarum Distributio Nova,a treatment of theApiaceae.[8]

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.[9][10][11]

Film and multimedia

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The term monograph is also used for audiovisual or film documentary-type representations of a subject,[12]often creatively expressed.[13]The term "monographic film" has also been used for short fiction or animated films.[14]

Video or film essays on a single topic are also referred to as monographs.[15][16][17]

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; "criticalmontages";and a series of social media posts, all curated on a website.[18]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".[19]

FDA usage

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In the context ofFood and Drug Administrationregulation, monographs represent published standards by which the use of one or more substances is automatically authorized. For example, the following is an excerpt from theFederal Register:"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a final rule in the form of a final monograph establishing conditions under whichover-the-counter(OTC) sunscreen drug products aregenerally recognized as safe and effectiveand not misbranded as part of FDA's ongoing review of OTC drug products. "[20]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

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References

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  1. ^The explanation of 'monograph' and 'monogram' in Oxford Advanced Leaners' Dictionary (8th Ed.)
  2. ^"The explanation of" monograph "in Online Etymology Dictionary".Retrieved5 February2021.
  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.ISBN978-0745634784– via Internet Archive.
  5. ^Campbell, Robert; Pentz, Ed; Borthwick, Ian (2012).Academic and Professional Publishing.Elsevier.ISBN978-1-78063-309-1.'[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.).ISBN9780226683942.Retrieved26 June2024.
  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.Archivedfrom 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)".InOliver, Francis Wall(ed.).Makers of British Botany.Cambridge University Press.p. 22 – viaWikisource.
  9. ^"Artist Monographs Archives".Thames & Hudson Australia & New Zealand.Retrieved5 November2024.
  10. ^"Artist monographs".MCA StoreMuseum of Contemporary Art.29 May 2024.Retrieved5 November2024.
  11. ^Nigro, Perry (6 July 2017)."Research Guides: *Art History: Art Monographs".Research Guides at Northwestern University.Retrieved5 November2024.
  12. ^"MONOGRAPH: the new film format for firms".ISPLORA.Retrieved5 November2024.
  13. ^"Cinema – Monographs".Les presses du réel.Retrieved5 November2024.
  14. ^"Animation".Monographic Films(in Spanish). 20 May 2015.Retrieved5 November2024.
  15. ^"Monographs 2023".Asian Film Archive.26 October 2023.Retrieved5 November2024.
  16. ^"Monograph: Paul Rogers".PBS Short Film Festival.15 July 2024.Retrieved5 November2024.
  17. ^"Monograph: Lo Harris".WETA.2 October 2020.Retrieved5 November2024.
  18. ^"From 'video essay' to 'video monograph'?: Indy Vinyl as academic book".NECSUS.15 June 2020.Retrieved5 November2024.
  19. ^"Indy Vinyl – Records in American Independent Cinema: 1987 to 2018".Indy Vinyl – Records in American Independent Cinema.Retrieved5 November2024.
  20. ^"DOCID:fr21my99-6",Federal Register,Rules and Regulations, vol. 64, no. 98, pp. 27666–27693, 21 May 1999, archived fromthe original(TXT)on 1 February 2017