Questions on Intelligence Research
1. While I have had to write numerous papers during the course of my study, perhaps the most it-depth work have been my explanatory study on the Syrian Civil War. Working on it, I have spent weeks analyzing the literature on the issue, both scholarly and intelligence studies, and then formulating key research questions for my paper and creating the literature review. As I have attempted to examine the causes of the war, as well its possible solutions, the analysis of such a complicated problem was one of the most challenging tasks during the entire course of my study.
2. Although writing intelligence products definitely requires scientific approach in collecting and analyzing data, some differences exist in creating the two types of products. Intelligence products often do not involve descriptive studies. While descriptive study, which is most often a qualitative one, is an essential part of the scientific research, it is not so relevant to creating intelligence products, which require not only in-depth analysis of the existing literature on the issue but also specific conclusions. Thus, intelligence studies are most often either explanatory or predictive one as they answer why something has happened in the past or what will happen in the future.
3. While intelligence products, as proved above, differ from scientific studies, a scholarly approach is extremely important in the Intelligence Community. As Burg and Lune argue, a qualitative study refers to "meanings, concepts, definitions, characteristics, metaphors, symbols, and descriptions of things". The purpose of intelligence products is similar because they aim to identify key characteristics and features of a subject studied. In order to prepare a high-quality intelligence product, its authors often use scientific methods of thorough collecting and analyzing data. Therefore, scientific approach is an intrinsic feature of intelligence products and thus must be followed by the Intelligence Community.
Works Cited
Berg, Bruce L and Howard Lune. Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences. 8th ed. Boston, MA.: Pearson, …
