Research Tips

Once you learn about your committee and country assignments, your main task should be doing research on the country you are representing, and the agenda items of your committee.

Below, you will find some tips which will prove to be helpful in your research:

1. Getting to Know the UN: Make sure that you have sufficient information about the United Nations itself before starting with the rest of your research. Always try to look at the previous resolutions on your issue, and projects or actions of related agencies or bodies while doing research.

2. Understanding Your Committee:  Before starting with your research, makes sure that you have enough information about the structure and proceedings of your committee. For your information on this please refer to the Rules of Procedure section and check out the MUN 101 materials. Note that it is especially important that you fully understand your committee in specialized committees. The best way to do this is to visit the committee’s section on our website or ask a fellow delegate who has been in the committee or in a similar format) before.

3. Learning about Your Country: Learn all about your country, specifically, the type of government and it’s policy on your debate topic as well as it's geography, economy, social and political situation. Try to understand the general standpoint of your country and mark your allies before the conference. A good resource when doing research on your country is the CIA World Factbook. Additional useful links maybe found in the Useful Links section. Don't forget to check out the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website of your country while doing research. 


4. Analyzing your Topic(s): The most important part of your research. Study the history of your topic and current situation. Read articles from newspapers and magazines. Try to understand the power structure in relation to your topic, and mark the most important actors. When researching on the internet, be sure it is from a reputable and reliable source, usually groups with “.org” or “.edu” in their URLs. Don't forget that wikipedia may not be the most reliable source most of the time, it is just a nice place to start off!


5. Developing a Policy: Developing your policy basically means that you will have to link your country to the issue at hand. You have to always make sure that the policy you come up with is in compliance with the general standpoint of your country. When coming up with possible solutions to the issues, consider whether or not the plan is feasible and have an idea about the past UN actions. A good thing you can do is organize your research in a binder. Sample sections could be: General info on the topic, Country position and actions, and Past UN actions.

6. Making Use of Your Study Guides: These are guides that are prepared by your committee directors under the supervision of the Secretariat. They contain a detailed of the topic(s). They often include some information about the controversial issues about the topics and what bloc positions are. You may reach the Study Guides after February 15th, 2010 from your committee sections on the website.

Useful Links:

Click here to view a sample list of useful websites you could use while doing research.