October 11, 2018
For the first time in their history, Georgetown’s Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) hosted a workshop on the topic: designing a research question.
As stated on the CIRS website, the center sponsors major studies of regional and international significance, including research initiatives in the areas of international relations, political economy, and domestic politics. To promote undergraduate research, CIRS recently launched the CIRS Undergraduate Research Advancement (CURA) Program.
Dr Mehran Kamrava leading the workshop – Photo courtesy of CIRS
As part of the CURA program, CIRS hosted a workshop on constructing a research question on Thursday, October 4th. The CURA workshops are meant to be an interactive experience where students are able practicing research skills hands on. 25 students, ranging from a variety of years and majors, participated. Each group was assigned a CIRS fellow who guided the group throughout the workshop.
Professor Mehran Kamrava, Director of the Center for International and Regional Studies, facilitated the first part of the workshop by sharing his experience on how to develop an effective research question. “Student engagement has been an important dimension for everything we have done since our inception”, said Kamrava. Elizabeth Wanucha, project manager and Islam Hassan, CIRS Research Assistant, continued leading the program with interactive assignments that allowed participants to refine their research questions in groups.
Participants at the workshop – Photo courtesy of CIRS
While this was the first workshop of the year, the event was a success and CIRS plans to continue their efforts in promoting research. “[The workshops] have now become an integral part of the menu of activities that CIRS engages in” Kamrava said. “I think [the workshop] was a success and we will continue hosting more of these events as we move forward” he continued.
*Changes has been made to clarify Elizabeth Wanucha’s position at CIRS.
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