• What is a monograph?
• Characteristics of a monograph
• Types of monographs
• Parts of a monograph
• Steps to make a monograph
• Examples of monographs

We explain what a monograph is, what types exist, its parts and other characteristics. In addition, examples and the steps to develop them.

A monograph has a versatile format for presenting research.

What is a monograph?

A monograph is a type of expository or explanatory document, in which a specific topic is approached from one or more possible perspectives. Consult various sources and make use of supporting material (images, Photographs, etc.), until the approach of the subject in question is exhausted as much as possible. The term comes from the Greek bow, "one and graphos, "writing".

It's about a text very common in academies and in various work environments, since they offer a wide level of research, without requiring a technical or specialized language. They have a variable rate extension, so it is a fairly versatile format when it comes to exposing an investigation in detail.

Characteristics of a monograph

From a monograph it is expected:

• That it be a cohesive and coherent written text, in which a clearly identified topic is addressed from a recognizable perspective, providing the reader with the information necessary to support what has been said.
• That it has a systematic character, structured in one or different parts, in which an exhaustive and extensive treatment of the subject is offered, which represents a minimum contribution to the knowledge of the area.
• That includes references bibliographic or any other type, and that provides the reader with the data necessary to verify what was said. This is not an imaginative text.
• That it has a variable extension, enough to exhaust the topic addressed. Also, that addresses this topic from an exposition point of view, objective, without involving subjectivities and without trying to convince the reader of a point of view.

Types of monographs

A monograph can be of different types, depending on its central purpose:

• Compilation monograph. When you aspire to bring together the main existing texts and contributions on a topic, serving as synthesis or compilation of what was said by others, although also add new information from your own hand.
• Research Monograph. Predominant in Sciences, focus on some kind of experiment or experience scientific that requires to be exposed, justified and put in context with its respective theoretical framework Y bibliography previous on the subject.
• Monograph of analysis experiential. Those that address in an expository (non-narrative) way some type of non-scientific or non-experimental experience, verifiable in a practical way, although they do not constitute part of an investigation. Its use is rather limited and specialized.

Parts of a monograph

Commonly, a monograph is made up of the following parts:

• Preliminaries. What are pre-work pages per se, such as:
  • Cover, in which the information of the title, author, and other required initial information is detailed.
  • Dedication and thanks, if any.
  • Epigraphs, which are allusive quotes or phrases that give a first aesthetic touch to our work.
• Introduction. Where the reader is offered an overview of the topic that will be addressed later, as well as the contextual data and definitions necessary to fully understand the text to come.
• Developing. It is properly the body of the monograph, divided into as many sections as necessary, advancing in an organized manner until the matter is exhausted.
• Conclusions.. In which a synthesis of what has been read is offered, the key points are reviewed and the development of the topic is closed, along with recommendations and other information derived from the body of the work.
• Bibliography. What is the orderly and hierarchical relationship, according to some methodological model, of all the material consulted: books, magazines, newspapers, films, etc., with their pertinent information so that the reader (or future researchers) can access them.
• Annexes. If there are any, which are graphic, visual or whatever type of material that for reasons of space, relevance or aesthetics, was not included in the development but is referred to and is located at the end of everything.

Steps to make a monograph

At the end of the monograph, it is advisable to allow some time to pass and reread it with a critical eye.

Next, we will detail an outline of the basic steps to carry out a monograph:

1. Delimitation of the subject of study. Any topic is good to develop in a monograph, but ideally it is a topic that interests us, since we will be dedicating a lot to it weather and attention. Factors such as originality and depth should not concern us, since they depend more on our approach to the subject, than on the subject itself.

2. Arching of sources. Once the topic has been chosen, we should consult as much as we can about it, in different areas of knowledge that are available to us: libraries, Internet, databases, etc. Our purpose is to review how much they have said about our chosen topic, how it has been approached before, who has done it and, finally, what are the possible edges that we would be interested in developing.

3. Problem Statement. The next step starts with the selection of our specific point of view regarding the subject, or whatever it is that we propose to do, once we have reviewed the antecedents and the texts that we need to understand the subject in depth, as we did in the last step. In this way we are able to prepare a first text, of a few pages, in which we present, as a working document, what we propose to do, how and why. This approach will come in handy later.

4. Outlining the text. From what we develop in the statement of the problem, we will be able to extract a scheme tentative of what the monograph should be. Where should I start? What is the order of its chapters and what will we cover in each one? In the end, we should have a kind of thematic "skeleton", which we will begin to "fill in" in the next step.

5. Drafting of the document. Guided by the developed scheme and by what is written in our approach, we will begin to develop the topic. You do not have to be afraid of copying yourself, so much of what you already wrote in the approach will be useful to write the body of your document.

• Drafting of the development. The content of the monograph is the first section to be written, in its proper sequential order of the chapters that compose it.
• Drafting of the conclusions. Once the body of the monograph is finished, we will proceed to draw up the conclusions.
• Writing the introduction. Finally, having the full body of work, we will do the introduction. It is not convenient to do it at the beginning, since the project will change as we develop it and then we would have to go back over the introduction to correct and add details.
• Correction and methodological adjustments. Once the monograph is ready, we must proceed to read it with a careful eye, to correct the spelling details, polish the wording and adjust all the methodological and bibliographic references. It is also time to introduce the annexes and verify that they are referenced in the right place.

6. Document review. Our monograph is ready for your last reading, which we must do before printing and delivering it. It is advisable to allow a short time to pass between the completion of your writing and this last reading, so that we can have a critical distance from what is written and we can read it as if it were someone else's.

Examples of monographs

Some examples of monographs are:

• Youth and Information Technologies within the United Nations by the Government of the Basque Country (Spain).
• Peer-to-peer bullying by Karla Mayorga and Washington León at the University of Cuenca (Ecuador).
• The economics of tobacco and tobacco control at the National Cancer Institute (USA).
• Women and access to justice. From the formalist tradition of the right to a non-androcentric right by Silvia Daniela Heim at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain).