Should you mention research methodologies?

[ToomuchLes]

Someone advised me (not a professor, or writer but rather an applicant) that I should discuss the methodologies that I will use to pursue my research. This is the first time I've heard of such a suggestion for SOPs. In fact, most of my institutions ask the applicant to address preparation, relevant experiences, research interests, academic plans, and why that institution is a good intellectual fit for you (also mention who you want to work with, and why).

 

For a few of my applications, I have about ~200 words available, so should I discuss how I will attempt my research, or focus more on why that specific program is good for me?

[TakeruK]

I'm not in the same field as you, but I definitely discussed methodology in my SOP. For me, this was equivalent to why School X was a good fit for me! In my case, I wrote about how I wanted to develop skills as an observer (i.e. user of astronomical telescopes) and that I applied to School X because they have the best access to Telescope Y. I don't know exactly what the equivalent in history would be, but if certain schools place emphasis on certain methodologies or have resources for you to develop your skill in certain methodologies, I would definitely bring that up in the SOP.

[peachypie]

i did not discuss specific methodologies, I would again focus on why their school is a good fit for you overall, not just for a specific thing unless your field/program has certain things that are of special note or necessary for your future endeavors.  

[fuzzylogician]

I'm not sure what 'methodologies' mean in History, but by extrapolation, for me it would mean one of two things. The more straightforward one is that some components of my work are experimental, and clearly it makes sense to talk about how a particular program can support my work by having the right kind of lab/equipment and by using the kinds of designs/analyses I think are right for my work. At least the school/lab should not be outright opposed to the way I think experimentation should be done. There may be some correlates of this for History, I'm not sure. Then a second component of 'methodology' in my field involves the kinds of theories people work with, which informs how they ask questions and how they go about answering them. Lots of people call themselves Linguists but are actually engaged in vastly different kinds of work. Linguistics can be anything from very lit-heavy Humanities research to a more analytic Social Science, all the way to things that could be reasonably housed in a Biology or CS program. Here again I would not apply to a school that has a completely different view of linguistics that is incompatible with what I want to do. However, I wouldn't spend space in my SOP discussing this because it's a very fundamental part of how I chose where to apply and it's abundantly obvious that the schools I chose have the same fundamental approach to language as I do. I would only choose to address this for schools that have more variety in how they study language so it's less clear how my approach fits in. 

 

Either way, though, for a 200 word statement I don't think methodologies is something I would discuss at all, assuming you mean by that something like what I described above. I would stick to a discussion of your research interests and how the school could generally support them, perhaps mentioning particular professors or resources that are important to your work. 

[lyrehc]

I think briefly mentioning that you want to study at x school because it is quantitative or qualitative or something along that line is fine but I wouldn't spend a lot of time giving details beyond that.

[jujubea]

Methodology is pretty important in my case. The schools I'm applying to each employ faculty with different (though overlapping) methodological strengths.

[smg]

I've been told by multiple sources to include at least a sentence about methods. 

[have2thinkboutit]

I am also discussing methodologies in my SoP, but similar to what others have already said, it is an important aspect of my research topic and also one of the reasons why I am applying to the particular universities I am applying to. So I would advise you to at least think about how different approaches benefit your research and how each of your schools can teach you how to use them in the best way possible. It might turn out to be an important aspect for your field.