5 Tips for Policy Research in a Small Club
This article is part of our series on challenges small clubs face in policy debate. Check out the previous post here:
Why Small Clubs Struggle with Policy Debate
Trish asked about competing in policy debate when opponents come from large, established clubs with evidence pools. Here are a few tips:
1. Form an Alliance
Many policy debaters are in the same boat you are. Band together and form your own online evidence pool, or find one that already exists. Take advantage of networking opportunities at tournaments. The easiest way to grow your pool: if you hit a team from a small club and they earn your respect, recruit them in the student lounge afterward.
2. Trade for Briefs
Instead of making a full-blown evidence pool in which all briefs are shared, reach out to specific teams or clubs for briefs on your research list. Maximize your returns by writing an outstanding brief for a niche case that other people may not have researched yet. Then trade it to anyone who can make it worth your while. Try to finish all your trades as quickly as possible once it’s out in the wild, before someone else trades it for you.
3. Make Multi-Purpose Briefs
These can easily be a liability; don’t ever run a piece of evidence just because you have it. But consider finding evidence that generally supports some part of the status quo, or that broadly attacks a certain kind of change.
Along the same lines, read and know every brief in your box. You’ll be surprised how often you can repurpose evidence as long as you know where to find it.
4. Cultivate Personal Knowledge
Having a conversational grasp of the topic is far more useful than a mountain of evidence that you don’t know how to use. Make your limited research efficient by focusing on teaching yourself the topic, even if you don’t have time to delve deeply into it and find evidence.
5. Work Harder
This is the most universal way to gain a competitive advantage. Nothing about competition is truly fair. We all have unique strengths and weaknesses. You have to overcome a research disadvantage. Your opponent has a speech impediment. Another opponent can only afford to go to a few tournaments a year.
Whatever the problem, tackling it intelligently with maximum effort will give you good results. Maybe you have to work twice as hard to get to the same place as your rivals. So be it. It’ll make the victory that much more satisfying. Most importantly, every second that you invest in this activity will make you a better person. Don’t shy away from disciplined work. Roll up your sleeves and fire up your web browser.
Thanks for a great question, Trish.
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