Al-Barra has extensively researched the oral poetry of Mauritania; more specifically, she has studied the tibra, a form of love poem whose recitation is restricted to all-female gatherings. Some of these she has translated into French. Her collection Taranimli-Watanin Wahid (Songs for a Country for All) was published in 1992, and Al-Shi'r al-Muritani al-Hadith, min 1970 ila 1995 (Modern Mauritanian Poetry, 1970-1995) was published in 1998.