UNESCO

There is a question about what type of sources are mandatory for the position paper. While I don’t require any particular number of sources be books or what-not, it is good to use sources that force you to actually flip some pages. Publication generally ramps up the respectability of the source, although there can be extreme exemptions (it is up to you to determine any bias).

The reason for not having this requirement is simply this; these issues are still mostly academic, and there aren’t very many concrete case studies out there. Some of the information you need cannot be found in public libraries, and while it doesn’t hurt to look, if you have to pay to use a certain journal, I’d rather you use an online source. However, a paper relying solely on online sources, especially those of poor reputation, will be looked upon unfavorably compared to one using a variety of sources.

- Bryan

p.s.: if you can get access to a University library (UC, Cal State, a local junior college like Stanford, if you’re desperate ), that is probably the best place to go to.

p.p.s.: Wikipedia will not be valid as a source, but it is a good place to go to look for other sources.

Attached are the guidelines and rubric for Position Papers from last year’s session. As of right now, these will remain the same for this year, but we will update you if they are different. We will follow this format closely, and encourage you to do so as well.

Position Paper Guidelines

For help in finding research sources, feel free to use the sources that can be found in the topic synopsis. We included several additional readings that you may find interesting as well. You should also regularly browse The American Journal of Bioethics, The President’s Council on Bioethics, and the Union of Concerned Scientists for valuable news and material for your research. However, be wary of partiality that you will find in the latter two. The President’s Council has been accused of dismissing members for disagreeing with the Bush Administration’s policy (which incidentally makes the Council a VERY good source for the delegate representing the United States). The UCS, on the other hand, has been accused of being radically left-wing and of sensationalizing issues. Essentially, if you use one, try to use the other as well to balance things out.

The International Bioethics Committee is a subdivision of UNESCO created to deal with questions of bioethics. It is a strong starting point for the work the UN has done in this field. In addition, you can easily find comparable bioethics advisory councils and journals in the nation you are representing by using an extensive Google search. We provided the American sources above simply because most of the discourse has been focused in the United States, but that does not mean that there aren’t more engaging and illuminating discussions elsewhere. For example, here are links to the Italian National Bioethics Committee and the Second National Bioethics Conference in India.

Lastly, BMUN has a VERY strict plagarism policy regarding position papers. Our official policy is that any paper that is caught using material without citations will be disqualified from a research paper, and that any school with more than four cases of plagarism will be disqualified from a delegation award. We will take this a step further in out committee. Any delegate that has been caught plagarizing will be disqualified from ANY award, both research and in-committee. We hate to be such downers, but, it is simply not worth it, both for you and your fellow delegates.

- Bryan