What is a Monograph and why is it so dominant in Higher Ed?

Answer 1

A monograph is a piece of academic writing composed solely by one person. (mono = one, graph = writing).

Monographs are important in academia for a few reasons. First, most scholarly books are monographs. (Textbooks, on the other hand, are not. Nor are collections of essays/articles.) Monographs represent original research by an expert on the topic of the book, so they are often the best sources for students to study in order to learn how data is currently being interpreted by experts.

Second, in order for a professor (in the humanities) to be promoted, s/he must publish a monograph. In the sciences, there is less of an emphasis on monographs because articles and books are usually produced by a team working together in a laboratory. In the sciences, being "first author" on an article is most important.

I hope this helped!