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1 year ago in Research Proposal Format By Aarna
What citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, IEEE) should I use in my PhD research proposal?
My background is in Psychology (APA style), but I'm applying for an interdisciplinary program in Cognitive Science. Should I use APA, or switch to something more neutral? Does the committee even care as long as it's consistent?
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By Mary Answered 1 year ago
The committee cares about consistency and discipline-appropriateness. If your primary department or supervisor has a stated preference, use that. In its absence: 1) For Social Sciences, Psychology, Education: Use APA. 2) For Humanities: Use Chicago Notes-Bibliography or MLA. 3) For Physical Sciences, Engineering, Computer Science: Use IEEE or Nature style. 4) For Life Sciences: Use APA or CSE. For interdisciplinary programs like Cognitive Science, APA is often the lingua franca as it bridges social science and some life science traditions. The key is to pick one style and apply it flawlessly. Sloppy formatting suggests careless research. If truly unsure, email the program coordinator or model your references after a recent graduate's published thesis from that department.
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