1. Research Tips & Tricks
A consolidation of wisdom from your Westwood MUN team

2. Raw Research Paper Three section: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd paragraphs
Copy/Paste anything useful
Keep the information with its source (be able to cite your sources to give yourself credibility)
Pull research from this document in your policy statement outline
Condense and clarify into policy statement
Useful for speeches

3. Issue Books The first stop for research
Released by the conference itself
Outlines the main focus, history of the issue
Particularly useful in 1st paragraph of policy statement
Print out and annotate
Issue books often include “guiding questions” for research and PS

4. The UN Website Ideal for 1st paragraph research
Includes a record of all member states
Shows signatories/ratifications on all treaties
Gives the most accurate information

5. UNBISNET Records of all UN documents
Unbisnet.un.org -> New Keyword Search (Under bibliographic records)
Fill in “Subject” line with topic
Optional: Your country as author
Click “English”
Contains past resolutions and documents
Good way to learn resolution writing

6. The CIA Fact Book
A database containing info about EVERY country the US recognizes
great for basic profile info of country
Info like economy, geography, people, government, communications, energy, transportation, military, transnational issues, statistics
Also includes comparisons to other nations
regionally and internationally
Particularly useful in 2nd paragraph of policy statement
Example - Brunei

7. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Vary country by country
Contain original documents outlining your country’s stance
Most issues in committee are discussed on MFA websites
Perfect for first-hand information for use in policy statements
Example – Turkey

8. New York Times Shows history of country (1851 -)
Displays recent coverage (current event info)
Includes many links to useful sites
State Dept. site
CIA Fact Book
BBC Country Profile
Just search the country on nytimes.com!

9. Random Research Tips
If a resolution is mentioned in an issue book or somewhere else, try searching the name of the resolution directly in Google to pull up the original resolution.
Control Find is your best friend! Helps to sort through large documents
type ‘Ctrl F’
a search bar will pop up
The search will highlight in the document exactly what you type in the search bar.
in the search bar, type the name of a resolution, your country name, or your topic