References for Describing Research Experience

Started by leverp2000
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leverp2000

leverp2000

Senior Member
15+ Year Member
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When describing one's research experience, is it necessary to include references for some of the background information? I have not been doing so, due to constraints in space for some of the schools. Is this a problem?

Thanks.

leverp2000
 
I was just about to ask a similar question, so I hope you guys don't mind me adding to this one. The tri-i app says you can add an additional page, but I have one additional page of actual writing and then one full page of references...is this a bad idea?

If the answer to the OP's question is "no," then this solves me problem 😀
 
For the MSTP essay (why md/phd, describe your research, career plans), I'm not going to reference anything. If you have your own manuscript, conference abstract, and/or patent, I would definitely list it somewhere. Some secondaries specifically ask for this. For those schools without a section specifically for publication records, I might just throw in an extra CV or publication list even if not requested.
 
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Oh, for the Tri-I MSTP, does the statement that you can append an additional page mean that we can only add one page or could I append two pages? My MSTP personal statement is about 2.5 pages, and I hate having to cut things out, though I have had to for some schools (i.e. the UPenn 8000 char limit).
 
leverp2000 said:
Oh, for the Tri-I MSTP, does the statement that you can append an additional page mean that we can only add one page or could I append two pages? My MSTP personal statement is about 2.5 pages, and I hate having to cut things out, though I have had to for some schools (i.e. the UPenn 8000 char limit).
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The tri-i application says "please attach an additional page if necessary" so I think that they would really prefer only one extra page. Maybe if it's just an extra half of a page it wouldn't be that bad, but you might want to contact the school.

So do you guys think that it's actually better to not put refereces in the statment explaining your research?
 
I narrowed it down to 2 pages by indenting rather than leaving a space between paragraphs. So, I think it should be fine.
 
tedrik said:
So do you guys think that it's actually better to not put refereces in the statment explaining your research?
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Will having references add to the overall statement of your research? Will anyone reading it actually look up the references? I'd say probably not... Reference your own publications though... 🙂
 
As a previous applicant, I haven't seen the real worth of putting references (even references of your own articles) as a separate page. You can sneak stuff like this in your essay however by saying something like:
"we were able to do blah blah blah and publish our results in such and such journal." And plus, the people reading your application can quickly do a PubMed search if they wanted to take a look at your publication record.

Some secondaries, I believe, also leave space somewhere for you to list any publications that you have been involved in.
 
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