FREN 309: Plaisir de lire

Search filters are criteria which can be used to limit results from a given search; faceted navigation is the dynamic interplay of such filters as it is implemented on a given platform. 

For example, you can often filter for scholary and/or peer-reviewed resources; below are examples from some of our most popular search platforms:

• In Summon, under the Refine your search filter, you can limit results to Scholarly & Peer-Reviewed, or even just Peer-Reviewed;
• In Databases A-Z, you can use the Type filter to limit database listings to those which prominently feature Scholarly & Peer-Review [sic] resources;
• In EBSCOhost databases (e.g., Academic Search Complete), under the Limit your results filter, you can limit to Peer Reviewed resources;
• In ProQuest databases, under the Limit to filter, you can limit to Peer reviewed results; under the Source Type filter, you can limit to Scholarly Journals.

When you have identified a resource of interest, but aren't sure if it falls under the category of scholarly or peer-reviewed, you have recourse to a couple of simple strategies:

• For any resource, search for the title as an exact phrase (enclosed in quotation marks) in Summon; then, under the Refine your search filter, limit results to Scholarly & Peer-Reviewed, or even just Peer-Reviewed. Does the resource persist in the results list?
• For articles from a serial publication (journal, magazine, etc.), visit our Journal Finder, and search for the publication by title; if the resource is peer-reviewed, the label Peer Reviewed will appear prominently in the listing, along with an icon depicting a square academic cap and tassel.

Find the Journal Finder on our website under:
Research Tools > Search Tools > Journal Finder

When you are viewing a resource listing, it can be very useful to look for other relevant resources among:

• cited references (other works cited in this resource); and 
• citing references (other works that cite this resource)

The platforms Web of Science and Google Scholar have enhanced cited-reference search functionality.
Note: Web of Science indexes plenty of arts and humanities content at this point, so it’s a good option for almost any subject!

Records in either database will include browsable citing references (Cited by in Google Scholar; Citations in Web of Science).
Note: Counts in Google Scholar will tend to be higher; Google Scholar tends to index resources regardless of access, whereas Web of Science prioritizes those resources for which it is able to provide a complete citation, or better yet, an abstract.

Web of Science will generate a hyperlinked list of Cited References, although it often will not be able to supply a link for all cited references.

In Web of Science, you can perform a cited-reference search by changing the search type from Document to Cited References.