There are discussions debating pros and cons of using the words "I", "we", "you", "my", "our", etc. in academic writing. Here are just a couple of examples:
pros:
https://wordvice.com/first-person-pronouns-in-research-paper/
cons:
http://en.writecheck.com/blog/2012/11/30/writing-no-no-1-video
Do valid peer reviewed journals or universities have a clear standard on this topic to refer to?
(my research is in the field of architecture/architectural engineering)
It depends on your methodology - area of research. Rather than journals or universities, it is your discipline that determines the preferred use of first/second/third person pronouns.
If you're in the field of social sciences, the publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition) authorizes the use of first person (singlular and plural) pronouns.
@Donna @Annabelle
Thanks for your replies. My research is in the field of architectonics.
"The APA 6th Edition, Section 3.18, indicates that writers should use the active voice for clarity (APA, 2010, p. 77). Writing in the active voice means the subject of the sentence clearly performs the action that the verb expresses.
APA stresses using the active voice to make it clear to the reader who is taking action in the sentence. The reason is that the use of passive voice often makes it difficult for the reader to determine who is taking the action of the verb."... Read more at: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/formandstyle/writing/scholarlyvoice/activepassive
"Nature journals prefer authors to write in the active voice ('we performed the experiment...') as experience has shown that readers find concepts and results to be conveyed more clearly if written directly." Read more at: https://www.nature.com/nature-research/for-authors/write
There's a fundamental difference between writing subjectively and using active voice. Researchers should avoid the former. Using active voice is recommended to help the readers distinguish what you borrowed from literature and what you have done. Check out the video link below -- from a course on scientific writing at Stanford university:
https://youtu.be/aZqjYzW-jtw
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