Citation in Peronsal Statement?

[JohnMason]

Hi everyone.

I am currently writting a Phd statement of purpose. The statement includes a section of literature review (sort of) to justify my research objective. I am wondering, it's problematic or conducive to include footnote/citation  in this part (as i would refer to existing researches).

Any advice or experience?

Many Thanks

[rising_star]

Why are you including a literature review?

[TakeruK]

My opinion and experience is that if you are including a footnote or a citation in your statement of purpose then you are including too much research information. I don't think SOPs should go in such level of research detail that you would need to cite anything. Readers are not going to look up your citations. And although you might argue that citing a famous/recognizable paper might demonstrate that you are familiar with the current literature, remember that a large member of your audience will not even be interested/knowledgeable in your topic that they would recognize your citations as such. Instead, I think you can and should demonstrate your expertise with the current literature by discussing your research interests and tying it in the current problems in the field. You can do this at a level that does not require any citations.