Exploration of Research Methods

This week I have been exploring the Web, in search of more resources to develop my perspective of the international arena. The Web is filled with information, but one must be sure not to believe all of the material crowding the Internet. They might not be true, accurate, and reliable. Since my blog is based on analysis of the events going on in the international arena of the middle east, I need to gather reliable, solid data. This makes my posts and blog respectable. Therefore my task this week was not easy, but I believe I have found reliable sources that will clinch my analyses to be more respected and reliable. I have used IMSA and Webby criteria to evaluate the websites and blogs that I have found to be knowledgeable sources for my field of international relations. These links have been added to my linkroll, which can be seen at the right side of my blog, but I will also evaluate them in further detail.
I would like to start with the blogs that I follow daily. The first one is called “The Istanbulian” and it is written by a Turkish journalist working in one of the prominent newspapers. Although the blog raises valid issues, I think that the layout is anti-professional and limit’s the credibility of the writer. It is a hard blog to follow, without any interactivity. However I do think that the content is solid, and the analyses worth following every day. The second blog, called “The White Path” does not bare any of this visual disadvantages. This blog is also written by a journalist, who has very different views of the Turkish government, and it is expanding my horizons to see issues from a different perspective. However the writer does not seem to be involved with his blog personally, and this insincerity transfers to the reader. The third blog I have been following is called “Middle East Politics” and I find this blog to be a good source to the ideas of the young. The visual design is fulfilling making the navigation easy. Although one problem that I have experienced, is the unorganized posts. They should be labeled under each country for better functionality, rather than all of the posts page after page. Memri, The Middle East Research Institute, has this problem sorted out by making an archive by the dates of the posts. The reason Memri is of substantial value is the fact that it gives an idea of what a research institute based in the middle east looks at the internal affairs of Turkey. Although Memri is not satisfying in the context of interactivity and depth, it provides a different perspective. This is precisely the reason why the Middle East Blog of the Times Magazine is intriguing to follow. It provides a western perspective to the region in turmoil. This blog is visually satisfying and the spectrum of the content is very vast. The last blog that is of crucial scholarly value is the es issues by means of public diplomacy and policy. Therefore the Foreign Policy Association’s Blog, that covers the Middle Eastern Region in broad. This blog analyzs blog is different than the other individual blogs that I have mentioned above. The analysis of issues is deeper, based on theories that are prominent in the study of international relations. The layout is satisfying and this is one of the best blogs that I have come across.
The blogs provide thoughts and analyses of many viewpoints, however there is need for reliable, solid information that can be accessed by means of the Internet. This brings us to the websites that I have been monitoring. The first four that I would like to mention are all alike in terms of context and intention. They are prominent newspapers of Turkey. Hurriyet, Cumhuriyet, Sabah, and Turkish Daily News. Although they have a different perspective on issues, they are quite similar to one another. Their context is deep, having multiple data and sources on issues. Their structural layout and navigation is easy to follow, and they are all interactive and functional, leaving the reader to have a great overall experience. Reuters: International and CNN: Turk also provide as a good source for last minute occurrences. Overall, one should skim through these websites in order to get a comprehensive view of the event that is happening. The websites of The Center for International Relations: Middle East/ Caucasus, and The Center for Strategic and International Studies: Middle East Program provide like a search engine that may be used to research a specific event that is of crucial value. They refer to other websites that may have further resources on the topic. Therefore I found that these website were incredibly helpful to fully understand an issue.
The Middle East is a complex region, still debated by world renowned scholars. My training in the field of international relations suggest that in order to understand a region, a state, a government, it is crucial to examine the past and analyze the present in the light of that knowledge. That is why the next websites provide historical resources for analysis. The Foreign Affairs: Middle East, Middle East Progress, Eurasianet: Turkey, Middle East Times, Council on Foreign Relations: South Eastern Europe (The only website which classifies Turkey as a Eastern European State.), provide valuable resources and articles on the history of the middle eastern countries and facts about the recent governments. Their websites are very easy to navigate and their visual designs are exquisite, functioning interactively the overall experience of these are more than sufficient. The last website that I would like to mention is the Foreign Policy Institute of Turkey. This institute is one of the few think tanks focusing on Turkey’s international relations. It is more broad in context, however it is a reliable source, providing many articles from Turkish scholars. The website is not very fulfilling in terms of visual design but one has to look past that because of the shortage in Turkish based institutes.
All in all, I think that these items in my link roll will provide a guide to those who are interested in the region called the middle east and therefore will be intrigued to do exploration of their own.