CRInfo: The Conflict Resolution Information Source -

Web-Based Conflict Research Tutorials

Sources of Information

Traditionally, searching for detailed information about recent developments at your specific conflict site would require interested persons to travel, potentially thousands of miles, and meet face to face with the competing parties and interested individuals to answer all of your questions. While such face-to-face communication is still invaluable (although potentially very expensive), it is now possible to get a "jump start" on finding answers by searching the Internet or by looking through the newspaper collection at the local library.

While such research will not be as "first hand" as that which can be obtained by going to the site in-person, searching the Internet or library resources provide a relatively easy and efficient way to access a great deal of valuable information, which enables those interested in getting involved to find out more about the conflict they are about to enter. It also enables third parties to learn enough background information about the conflict that they will be able to ask more intelligent questions both before they depart and once they get there.

Your next step is to decide what information resources you want to search. Table 2 offers a useful guide to available resources along with information about searching options and the advantages and disadvantages of each resource.

Resource	Advantages	Disadvantages	Searching
In-print books	Easily available within a few days or weeks Provides more in-depth information Generally higher-quality (since more effort goes into writing books than newsletters, monographs, or news stories)	Moderately expensive Popular books can be hard to get quickly through libraries Specialized books are often unavailable Because of publication lags, the material is usually somewhat dated Often limited to commercially profitable information Usually offers only a single perspective	Easily searchable through: Online bookstores like Amazon.com¹ Conflict supersites like CRInfo.org Library catalogs (many of which are available online)
Web Sites (often with reports, monographs, newsletters, etc.)	Extensive information now being posted by all sides of most prominent conflicts Generally free and instant access Often very up-to-date Many official governmental and non-governmental reports available	Highly variable quality because of the "vanity publishing effect." Quality information with significant "income potential" is often published in book form and may not be available Quality sites sometimes charge for information	Easily searchable through: Conflict supersites like crinfo.org Web search engines like google.com Meta search engines like metacrawler.com and researchville.com
Current Online Newspapers	Extensive world-wide coverage available on a daily basis Generally free and instant access News stories from many different social and cultural backgrounds available Newspapers offering alternative perspectives are also available	Reporters have limited time to research stories Coverage confined to "newsworthy" events Tends to emphasize coverage of confrontations over conciliation efforts	Links to online newspapers available from sites like: yahoo.com Many conflict related stories available from: CRInfo.org BeyondIntractability.org
Online newspaper archives	Quick and comprehensive way to research recent history News stories from many different social and cultural perspectives are available	Has the same disadvantages as current newspapers Coverage limited to the last 10-20 years depending on source Significant charges for archived articles Not available from all newspapers	Searching easily available from newspaper web sites listed by sites like yahoo.com
Academic Journals, Popular Periodicals	Generally available through research libraries Journals tend to have in-depth analyses Popular periodicals may also have useful information	Single copies of journals hard to get Older articles may be available at research library or through online services like jstor.com Journal articles may be of more academic than practical interest	Academic journals searchable through research library services like: jstor.org Popular periodicals available through services like: findarticles.com
Out-of-print Books, Old Journals and Newspapers	Available only through research library collections, interlibrary loan, and used book bookstore networks (which are increasingly computerized).	Information likely to be too dated to be useful (useful historical information is usually picked up by more recent publications)	Searchable through library catalog systems (many of which are Web accessible)
Networking	Web searches are a great way to identify and make initial e-mail contacts with others working on related conflict problems, as well as people and organizations in the area.	Still requires personal contact if at all possible	Start with Web search and use contact information to start process; supplement, of course, with direct personal contacts and networking.

There are two basic types of Internet search tools cited in Table II. First, there are the general-purpose search engines (like Yahoo.com and Google.com) as well as library cataloging systems (which are usually available online). There are also specialized search engines and Web supersites focused specifically upon the conflict resolution and peacemaking fields (like crinfo.org and http://www.incore.ulst.ac.uk, oneworld.org, and usip.org).

The general-purpose tools such as Yahoo and Google catalog literally millions of web pages, print publications, and other resources. They offer services which attempt to index every single bit of information on public web servers. Because these sites have enormous ground to cover, these sites are forced to do a fairly superficial job of cataloging relatively low-profile conflicts and specialized fields like peacemaking and conflict resolution. As a result, there are many resources that these sites are likely to pass over, because their cataloging system is unlikely to capture the many nuances of the particular conflict and field you are investigating. Still these systems provide access to newspapers, books, journals, magazines, newsletters, web pages, and directories of people and organizations that might not be found elsewhereat least not nearly as quickly.

Specialized Search Engines

Also available are specialized search engines and Web supersites focused specifically upon both the general conflict or issue you are investigating (depending on whether it is a higher-profile conflict) and the conflict resolution and peacemaking field as a whole. Of these specialized "supersites," CRInfo is likely to be especially useful in investigating your particular conflict since it systematically seeks to include in its databases resources from other specialized and general sources. Sires like CRInfo provide the same kinds of tools as the big general-purpose systems; the difference is that it focuses exclusively upon conflict in peace-related books, articles, newsletters, reports, web sites, and organizational and individual information. By working with a much smaller body of information, it is able to provide better coverage. Still, there are limits. For more general information, as well as detailed information on highly specific or low-profile conflict situations, it is better to consult the more general search systems.

Beyond Intractability Version II
Copyright © 2003-2006 The Beyond Intractability Project
Beyond Intractability is a Registered Trademark of the University of Colorado
Project Acknowledgements

The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project
Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess, Co-Directors and Editors
c/o Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado
Campus Box 580, Boulder, CO 80309
Phone: (303)492-1635; Fax: (303)492-2154; Contact