Researching conflict
and mediation
Workshop with PEAC 25B: Transforming Intractable Conflict
Simon Elichko (they/them)
Social Sciences & Data Librarian
Researching a conflict:
quick preliminary analysis
• Who?
Who are the actors involved? (individuals, groups)
Who has what kind of power in this situation?
• Where?
Name of nearest larger town/city? (helpful for finding news)
• What?
What words do people use to describe what's happening?
Does the language people use signify their position on the
relevant issues? What do you observe?
• When?
What relevant date(s) do you know?
What else was happening at this time?
Preliminary analysis --> Initial research direction
• Who?
Social media posts from actors
Blog posts, press releases and documents from
larger organizations (including governments)
News and other media
• Where?
Names of local and regional newspapers + media
Info about other similar actions in the local area
• Language & keywords
Use to search different sites and find sources
reflecting different perspectives
• When?
More manageable search results (narrow by date)
3 important search skills
- Emphasize and be more precise
- Remove confounding results
- Narrow your focus area
Comfortable with the basics already?
1. Emphasize and be more precise
To find articles (etc.) that include a specific phrase or word, put quotation marks (" ") around it.
Compare these two searches in Google Scholar:
New York University --> 5.9 million results
"New York University" --> 3.1 million results
To limit results to ones with your keyword (or phrase) in the title, add intitle.
intitle:"New York University" --> 12,300 results
2. Remove confounding results
Use the minus sign (-) to remove unwanted results from your search engine results.
For example: Quaker -oats
Also: add -ai to your Google search to prevent Google's AI overview from appearing in your results
(ex: search engine optimization -ai versus search engine optimization)
When searching library catalogs (e.g. Tripod, Worldcat) and databases (e.g. ProQuest Social Sciences), you can use the NOT operator.
Use date limits to remove search results that are too old or too recent.
railroad strike site:youtube.com, limited to past month
3. Narrow your target
How to search within a site:
your keyword site:swarthmore.edu
Search within multiple sites at once:
railroad strike site:instagram.com | site:tiktok.com | site:reddit.com
-
Put the URL immediately after site: (don’t leave spaces)
-
Leave spaces around the pipe | separating multiple sites.
-
This same syntax works when searching Bing, which may give different results
In-class activity:
dub.sh/conflict-resources-peac25b
To see responses, open this link:
Resources:
- Find Policy
- Think Tank Search (Harvard Kennedy School)
- Government Research Guide (US and international)
You can find more useful resources for researching your conflict here:
Library research guide for PEAC 71
Strategy & Nonviolent Struggle
Reach out!
Reach out to Simon for suggestions and advice.
We can sit down and talk about your topic, and look for relevant sources. This is a great way to build your research skills and learn about new resources.
- Email: selichk1@swarthmore.edu
- Make an appointment: bit.ly/selichk1
Researching conflict and mediation: workshop for PEAC 25B
By selichk1
Researching conflict and mediation: workshop for PEAC 25B
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