POL 230 - Middle East Politics - Professor Obazuaye: Your Assignment

According to the World Atlas, the Middle East includes 18 countries.

• These are Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
• Sometimes, the definition of Middle East is extended to include the concept of the "Greater Middle East" that includes Afghanistan, the Comoros, Djibouti, Maghreb, Pakistan, Sudan, and Somalia.
• Middle East includes countries that share common factors like ethnic groups, geographic features, religious beliefs, and political history.

Other sources note a different variety of countries make up the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Understanding Your Assignment

Before you begin looking for information you should make sure you understand your assignment. Some good questions are:

• How many pages?
• How many sources?
• What kinds of sources?
  
  • Books
  • Articles
  • Websites
    
• What format?

Your professor is your best resource to answer these questions.

There will be one group research paper assignment of 6-7 pages (not including bibliography page) required for this course. 

GETTING STARTED

1. Select a country you'd like to research. Your 2-4 page Country Profile should be in narrative form. Due 9/20/21.

2. Develop a thesis statement that focuses on an issue within your chosen country and an create an outline for your paper. Collect articles for your bibliography. Some of these articles will be used in your final project. Due 10/20/21

• Find articles that focus on your selected country and its relationship to UN domestic and foreign policy. Where does your country stand in the global political arena.
• How does this country plan to achieve the SDG you're interested in.
• How does it respond to demands for reform?

3. Your final project focuses on an issue within your chosen country. You may choose to do a Country Profile or Group Report. Due 11/24/21

• Both will need a list of references, also known as a Works Cited page.
• Below is an example of an MLA Works Cited page using some of the sources from this guide. 
  • MLA Works Cited

The Databases and Websites

Getting Information About a Country

• Country Watch
• Worldmark Encyclopedia of Nations
• CIA World Factbook

Finding More In-Depth Articles 

• Academic Search Complete
• MasterFILE Complete
• Military & Government Collection
• GreenFILE
  • Remember, you can search multiple EBSCO databases at the same time. Just click on one and  choose the others once you get to the EBSCO search page.
  • Here's a video on finding scholarly articles in EBSCO.

Breaking Down The Research Process  

The following outline gives a simple and effective strategy for finding information for a research paper and documenting the sources you find. Depending on your topic and your familiarity with the library, you may need to rearrange or recycle these steps. Adapt this outline to your needs. We are ready to help you at every step in your research.

1. Choose a topic - or have one assigned
2. Understand your topic
   • Background reading
     
   • Consider a main focus
   • Refine your topic
   • Make a list of your keywords and concepts
     
3. Search Sources
   • Find Books
   • Find Articles
   • Find Websites
4. Write your paper - Informative, Analytical, Argumentative, Critical
5. Cite your sources

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