monitoring vs observation

monitoring and observation both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
monitoring	Yes	No	No	No
observation	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, observation is a hypernym of monitoring; that is, observation is a word with a broader meaning than monitoring:

monitoring: the act of observing something (and sometimes keeping a record of it)
observation: the act of observing; taking a patient look

Other hypernyms of monitoring include observance, watching.

monitoring (noun)	observation (noun)
the act of observing something (and sometimes keeping a record of it)	the act of observing; taking a patient look
	the act of making and recording a measurement
	the act of noticing or paying attention
	facts learned by observing
	a remark expressing careful consideration