You will need a variety of different types of scholarly resources for your bibliography and annotated bibliography or final paper assignments. But how are they different from one another?
- A book authored by a single author on a single, specific subject is known as a monograph. A monograph is a highly focused work on one subject or an aspect of that subject and is highly detailed.
- An edited volume is a book that is written by multiple authors and organized by the editors on a subject. Usually each chapter is written by an author or authors on a specific aspect of the subject, so these volumes present an array of diverse opinions and study on a subject.
For example, an edited volume about vestal virgins in Rome will likely have a chapter written by a Historian discussing the historical overview of the vestal virgins from the seventh century BCE to the abolishment of cults in 394 CE, another chapter focusing specifically on the high social status of the vestal virgins in context of roles and figures in Roman society, and a different chapter looking specifically ancient notions of gender and gendered expectations and how the vestals did not fit cultural Roman expectations of women and were granted legal rights that were outside of gendered law. Hopefully with this example, you can see how an edited volume provides a variety of perspectives and different subject
- A journal article is an article written by an author or multiple authors on a specific subject that is published in a journal, a periodically published collection of articles on a subject area.
