ROML 089: French Coastal Ecologies: Home
Finding books
- Library Catalog
Discover books, journals, films, primary source collections, government documents, and other materials held at UNC and in the Triangle (you can request materials from Duke, NC State and NC Central) as well as a variety of open access publications.
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You can request most titles that UNC does not have through Interlibrary Loan. Carolina BLU uses the InterLibrary Loan (ILL) service to request materials from other campus libraries.
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Start with a keyword search in the catalog. Once you have located a relevant item, you can look at the Subjects in the record and follow those links to find related books.
You can refine your results by using the facets on the left side of the screen. Use the "Available Online" filter to limit to materials that may be accessed remotely. Under "Resource Type" you can restrict your results to books, journals, or government documents.
- Keyword: Claude Monet
- Associated Subject Heading: "Landscape painting, French -- 19th century"
- Associated Subject Heading: "Monet, Claude, 1840-1926 -- Criticism and interpretation"
- Keyword: Seafood traditions in French coastal communities
- Associated Subject Heading: "Cooking, French"
- Keyword: Refugee crisis and France
- Associated Subject Heading: "Immigrants -- Europe -- Social conditions"
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To find primary resources, you can add keywords to your search, such as: letters, diaries, speeches, newspaper articles, autobiographies, oral histories, government and organizational records, statistical data, maps, photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings, advertisements, artifacts, etc. For additional information on primary resources, please consult this guide: Finding Primary Source Materials
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.
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 in keyword or Boolean searches.
- Try variations of a keyword, or synonyms, and spell out abbreviations.
- coastline, coast, maritime, sea, ocean, "coastal environment", seaside, oceanography
- the Mediterranean, Côte d'Azur, French Riviera, southeastern France, Saint-Tropez
Subject Headings: If you find an interesting title in the Library Catalog, open the record and scroll down to alternate Subject Headings. Click on the link and it will take you to additional materials in the Library Catalog with the same subject/topic.
Search Strategy Worksheet from Humboldt State University
Formulating research questions
What makes a good research question?
Handout from Duke University's Thompson Writing Program. Has good guidelines and examples of research questions in the humanities and social sciences.
A Successful Research Question:
- Has significance for you
- Warrants attention from others
- Recognizes its contexts (historical, social, scientific personal, etc.)
- Has identifiable consequences and effects
- Leads to possible outcomes or solutions.
Before finalizing a research question, you must think carefully about issues that appeal and matter to you. In addition, you must also do some initial research and reading in the form of finding background information. This early research will help you formulate a research question that truly reflects your interests and concerns.
Once you have a basic understanding of your topic and the issues surrounding it, narrow your research question by asking the following questions:
Who? - Are you interested in a specific group of people? Can you narrow your focus to a group or demographic, such as age, gender, ethnicity, location, or socioeconomic status?
What? - What are current issues around this topic? Is there anything in the news about it?
When? - Is your topic current or historical? Did it happen during a specific time period? Are there any important events surrounding your topic?
Where? - Can your topic focus on a specific location? Where, geographically, might this topic be significant?
Why? - Why is this topic important? Why should others be interested?
Librarian
