Researching Conference Topics | Research Overview
Model UN Preparation Guide

Next, you should develop an understanding of the issues that will be debated at your Model UN conference. Many conferences send out background materials or issue briefs, which can help jump start your research. You may want to look at the sources cited in these materials for more in-depth information. If the conference background materials pose questions, you should answer them with your country information in mind. Here are some additional questions to help guide your research:

• What is the problem? How does it affect your country?
• What has your country done to combat the problem?
• What are the various “sides” in the debate?
• Which aspects of the issue are most important to your country?
• If your country is not involved with the issue, how can it become involved?
• How will your country shape the debate at the conference?
• What arguments will other countries make?
• How do the positions of other countries affect your country’s position?
• Is there evidence or statistics that might help to back up your country’s position?

Tips for Researching Issues

Check out news and media sources for up-to-date developments on an issue. Ask your community, school or university librarian if you can get access to LexisNexis Academic Universe. LexisNexis is a system that searches thousands of periodicals. Another service is Questia. This service costs about $15.00 per month, but allows you to access thousands of documents from your personal computer.

Look at the UN Global Issues page, which has an index to some prominent issues as well as a list of UN agencies that work in various issue-areas. Also, through the United Nations Documentation Center, you can find resolutions and voting records from the current and previous years.

Visit non-governmental organization (NGO) websites. NGOs are an important part of the UN system, in part due to the valuable research and information they generate. Look for NGOs that address your topic.

Read academic publications. Although they can be complex, they provide in-depth information on many issues. Professors, students and researchers are constantly conducting studies and publishing papers.

Research Overview

• Collecting Country Information
• Research Conference Topics
• Researching the UN System
• Guide to the UN Cyberschoolbus
• How to Find UN Documents in Five Steps or Less

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