FREN 150: Globalization and the French-Speaking World: Home

This guide is designed to help you get started with research for FREN 150: Globalization and the French-Speaking World. While it doesn’t cover everything, it brings together a range of resources—books, articles, and more—that explore the French-speaking regions and their complex histories, cultures, and global connections.

On this page, you’ll also find some handy tips and tricks for doing library research. These include how to choose effective keywords for your searches, how to tell the difference between primary and secondary sources, and how to evaluate the credibility of what you find.

Start with a search in the library's catalog.

Searching for Sources Effectively

• Follow the Bibliographic Trail: One proven method for gathering reliable information efficiently is to follow the citations or references from one source to another. The author's bibliography can lead you to other sources on the topic.
• Subject Headings: If you find an interesting title in the Library Catalog or article database, open the record and scroll down to alternate Subject Headings. Click on the link and it will take you to addional materials with the same subject/topic.
• Identify keywords: Before searching the Library Catalog or other databases, take a few minutes to write down all the words that describe your topic. Use these words and synonyms in keyword searches. 

What are primary sources?  They are often referred to as "first hand" accounts or "original" records.  Primary sources are the evidence historians use to build interpretations of the past. Primary sources also refer to original works of art, including plays and fiction.  Most primary sources are created at the time an historical event occurred, while others, such as autobiographies, are produced long after the events they describe. Among the many types of materials that may be primary sources are: letters, diaries, speeches, newspaper articles, autobiographies, oral histories, government and organizational records, statistical data, maps, photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings, advertisements, and artifacts.

A secondary source (or secondary analysis) gives information about or analysis of a primary source.  In academia, these secondary sources are usually published in books, edited volumes, or scholarly journals.  One of the main characteristics of scholarly journals is the process of peer review. Research articles under consideration for publication in a scholarly journal are sent to experts in the subject field (peers) for evaluation and comment (review).

Scholarly resources have the following features:

1. They are written by experts - look for an author's credentials or affiliations.

2. They are written for other experts or people in academia. Think of each scholarly work as a voice in an ongoing conversation to which you will add your voice when you write a paper. 

3. They use scholarly language with technical, discipline specific vocabulary.

4. They provide verifiable and reliable evidence for claims. Even if the resource is a general history/overview it will contain well researched information that the reader can verify.

5. They may be peer reviewed. Many journals go through an editorial process where other experts review and assess the information. 

Some databases will let you check a box to limit to peer reviewed articles. You can also look at the journal's website which will explain the editorial process including whether or not the journal is peer reviewed. 

What to look for:

• Bibliographic information (author, title, publisher, date, volume and issue number)
• Author credentials and affiliations (what and where of expertise) 
• An abstract stating a summary of the article
• Science and social science articles will most likely have an introduction, methodology (how research was conducted), results, discussion, and conclusion
• Notes, references, or works cited; This information is provided so readers know where the information was obtained, can verify sources, and/or use information for their own research. 

Example of a scholarly article

https://writingcenter.unc.edu/

Here is a reminder of different types of journals.