Skip to main content

Citations in the personal and research statement

The NSF has rules about citations that apply to their normal grants.  For GRFP the rules are different, or in fact there are none other than to cite as your field typically does.  The specific response from NSF when asked is:
Thank you for your e-mail regarding the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).
    The 2019 GRFP Program Solicitation (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2018/nsf18573/nsf18573.htm) contains application preparation instructions in Section V. The solicitation does not specify any particular standard for references and footnotes, beyond stating that they may be in 10-point Times New Roman font. Applicants may use their own discretion with regard to style and formatting of their citations, as long as they adhere to the guidelines regarding font size.
Please e-mail us at info@nsfgrfp.org or call us at (866) 673-4737 (toll-free from the US and Canada) or (202) 331-3542 (from international locations) if you have any further questions.

The citation using a footnote should be concise as it counts against the page limit.  It should also allow the reviewer to find it should they choose meaning that the citations should have a journal, volume and page number.  The minimum therefore is 1-3 authors, et al, year, journal, vol, page (starting and ending or just starting.  Be consistent for all.  You can also try to use a DOI.  Make sure you cite presentations if possible to again allow the reviewer to find them. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intellectual merit. From the horse's mouth

I am not sure why you would listen to a horse ( That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed.) but here is the NSF explanation of Intellectual Merit. The Project Description must contain, as a separate section within the narrative, a section labeled "Intellectual Merit."  The Project Description should provide a clear statement of the work to be undertaken and must include the objectives for the period of the proposed work and expected significance; the relationship of this work to the present state of knowledge in the field, as well as to work in progress by the PI under other support. The Project Description should outline the general plan of work, including the broad design of activities to be undertaken, and, where appropriate, provide a clear description of experimental methods and procedures. Proposers should address what they want to do, why they want to do it, how they plan to do it, how they will know if they succeed, and what benefits could accrue
Post a Comment
Read more

Selecting a reference(s).

The selection of a reference(s) to stand up for you in your application is a challenging prospect.  You want someone that knows you (well) but also someone with some gravitas.  That isn't an easy thing to determine, but title and reputation count especially to reviewers who will mostly be faculty at other colleges and universities.  The temptation is to pick someone you know will say something nice but they might be relatively inexperienced in writing letters or not have a well-known reputation.  On the other hand you could go after a Nobel Laureate but it might be someone who doesn't really know you.  Most important is the confidence you have in this person and their willingness to get the job done.  To paraphrase Wayne Gretzky, you miss 100% of the references that don't get submitted.  Make sure you get started early and have your references lined up in advance.  Don't play games and ask for the letters to be done one month in advance of the deadline.  On the other ha
Post a Comment
Read more