Tricks for an Efficient Committee Agenda Research by Zeynep DİNÇ

In the committee, we take action within our policy. For us to act on our policy, we should research our policy and agenda as thoroughly as possible. Here are some tricks for doing comprehensive research and for your writing on a position paper.

1. Usual, but the most important thing: Study Guide

The study guides are where delegates get their first encounter with information about the committee and the agenda they will discuss during the committee. It contains information which is not easily accessible, and also clear guidance to be ready for the conference and have a grasp of the agenda. When we consider all these, the study guide should be your first priority for your committee research.

I want to tell you a little story to understand the importance of the study guide. I was a first-timer, I was working so hard on my topic but there was a problem: I haven’t read the study guide, so I couldn’t get the real issue. Yes, I made my research but in a different way. Because of my mistake, my conference did not go great. I tried to work on the real issue at the end of the day, but it wasn’t enough to work on a solution. I learned my lesson.

For you to compare, I would like to tell you another. As I said, I learned my lesson, I realized the importance of the study guide. So, for another conference, I gave attention to the study guide and I did my research accordingly. Because of my wise choice, I enjoyed contributing to the committee and discussing our issue. These are little stories to understand the importance of the study guide.
The study guides generally contain information about chronological events, countries related to the agenda, etc. Considering that; when you are reading the guide, you can follow this instruction, it will guide you in doing your preparation.

● Take notes to grasp the general overview
● If your country has an interrelation, you should make a research about it too
● Study keywords and agenda terms. You will hear them a lot during the committee.
● Identify treaties, important events, etc. What happened in history can set an example for you.

2. Elicit from history; Contracts, conventions, pacts…

You finished your preparation with the study guide. Now you should identify treaties, important actions, etc. What happened in history can set an example for you. With these kinds of diplomatic issues, you can form an opinion about the policies of the countries. Also, primary sources can give you the most accurate way.

3. Watching documentaries about the agenda

Documentaries and some videos can give you the information in a different way. Visuality can help you understand the subject more comfortably. Also, some documentaries can contain interviews, extra information, etc. You can use them for your preparation too.

4. Examine the old news

The news presents what happened at that time from the vision of the country. You can get the ideologies, conditions, and information about the country and period. You can utilize news sites, national newspapers, newscasts, etc.

5. Websites

You can find clear and credible information on the internet. You just need to know which sites have reliable sources and clear data. There are so many websites to research but here are some websites, they could be helpful for you and your research:

-CIA World Factbook:

The World Factbook provides information on the history, people and society, government, economy, energy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook

-United Nations Website:

You can see the latest developments and previous solutions in the United Nations.

https://www.un.org/

-Official Government Website:

You can check out your country’s official website to see what your country’s government has to say about the committee agenda.

Other suggested websites:

www.delegatepal.com
https://knoema.com/
https://unctadstat.unctad.org/EN/
https://ucsd.libguides.com/data-statistics/country
https://www.nationmaster.com/
http://www.sesric.org/databases-index.php
https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics
http://data.unescap.org/escap_stat/
https://stats.oecd.org/
https://data.worldbank.org/country
https://imuna.org/resources/country-profiles

There are many websites like these, I suggest you not to restrict your research to these websites only.

I wish this article helped you and your research. I hope your conference will be good and productive, as it did your research. You don’t have to restrict, ask if you have any questions 🙂

Zeynep DİNÇ

Member of the Content Producer Team