BBC Country Profiles - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/country_profiles/default.stm Especially useful for lesser-known countries. It will give you an overview of the country’s recent history and also basic facts - Easier to read than CIA World Factbook
Foreign Affairs Ministry of Country - (USA - http://www.state.gov/ ) (China - http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/) (Type into google foreign affairs department/ministry “name of country”, most countries have English versions of website) Good for knowing your country’s stance on a variety of topics and their foreign policy in general.
Answer the "Questions to Consider" in Background Guides; make your own questions too!
Break the topic up into subtopics
Research as evenly as possible among the topics - prepare for any order
Facts, statistics, previous acts/agreements are very impressive - good for preambulatory clauses to resolutions
Don’t get held back by your country’s policy during research - if your country doesn’t have a clear stance on the issue you can still be the delegate with ideas, solutions, expertise about the topic
You don’t have to print every article you read, but print a few to have as a reference or take notes in your research folder
Highlight important parts of articles, but don’t over-highlight!