Arab Spring: A Research & Study Guide * الربيع العربي: Home

Since December 2010 the world has watched as demonstrations and protests spread across countries in North Africa and the Middle East. These pro-democracy movements rose up against the dictatorial regimes and corrupt leaders that had ruled for decades in some cases. Someone called these revolutionary events “Arab Spring,” and the phrase stuck. The specificity of these Arab revolutions is that they have been popular uprisings, leaderless and uncompromising in demanding total change. Why have the events in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, etc. followed such different paths? What are the long-term political, social, and economic ramifications of these revolutions? What are their intended and unintended consequences as countries across the region seek political and social reforms? What's the future of the Arab revolution with regard to the crucial issues of freedom, democracy, fidelity to Islam, secularism, and tribal power? There are a lot of questions and there is much to study in the causes and factors that led to these large-scale movements. This guide will attempt to provide direction to the appropriate source material within the library and beyond.

إذا الشّعْبُ يَوْمَاً أرَادَ الْحَيَـاةَ      فَلا بُدَّ أنْ يَسْتَجِيبَ القَـدَر

وَلا بُـدَّ لِلَّيـْلِ أنْ يَنْجَلِــي      وَلا بُدَّ للقَيْدِ أَنْ يَـنْكَسِـر

If a people one day wills to live --- fate [God] must answer its call
And the night must fade ---- and the chain must break

(by Tunisian poet Abou el-Kacem al-Chebbi, b.February 24 ,1909- d.October9,1934)

STEP 1: IDENTIFY AND DEVELOP YOUR TOPIC

STEP 2: FIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

STEP 3: USE CATALOGS TO FIND BOOKS AND MEDIA

STEP 4: USE INDEXES TO FIND PERIODICAL ARTICLES

STEP 5: FIND INTERNET RESOURCES

STEP 6: EVALUATE WHAT YOU FIND

STEP 7: CITE WHAT YOU FIND USING A STANDARD FORMAT

Available online:

• RefWorks is a web-based program that allows you to easily collect, manage, and organize bibliographic references by interfacing with databases. RefWorks also interfaces directly with Word, making it easy to import references and incorporate them into your writing, properly formatted according to the style of your choice.
• See our guide to citation tools and styles.
• Format the citations in your bibliography using examples from the following Library help pages: Modern Language Association (MLA) examples and American Psychological Association (APA) examples.

Evaluating Web Pages: Questions to Ask & Strategies for Getting the Answers

Eight-point evaluation checklist from the UC Berkeley Library:

• What can the URL tell you?
• Who wrote the page? Is he, she, or the authoring institution a qualified authority?
• Is it dated? Current, timely?
• Is information cited authentic?
• Does the page have overall integrity and reliability as a source?
• What's the bias?
• Could the page or site be ironic, like a satire or a spoof?
• If you have questions or reservations, how can you satisfy them?

Looking for an easier way to access Cornell resources from off campus? Try:  Access Anywhere can be installed on the web browser of your choice. You must have your bookmarks bar visible in your browser to use. This guide includes the basic installation instructions for the Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Safari web browsers. Instructions may vary depending on what version of the browser you are using