Is it preferable to use the personal pronouns (I, we,) when writing a research paper?
Which is more accurate, using an active or passive voice while writing?
In the area of Humanities, in most of the Iraqi academic institutions, generally, there is an avoidance of using personal pronouns( I, we,) instead, there is an inclination to use for example" the researcher aims at .." Or using the passive voice rather than the active one e.g. "This research is conducted …"
Which is more accurate, in academic writing?
Share your experience,
Thanks
Hi, Concerning the first question, it is preferable to use the passive rather than the active voice when referring to the researcher to avoid repetition. Concerning your second question, yes, we learnt 30 years ago to refer to the author as a third person as 'the researcher', but nowadays, I noticed that many researchers use the first person pronouns 'I and we'.
I think it is appropriate to use 'the researcher' with the pronoun s/he in master theses or doctoral dissertations. As for articles, this depends on the author's preference along with that of the journal. I still remember that I once attended one seminar related to hard science and one researcher convinced us that the use of 'I' or 'we' reflects less scientific impression! So, it is convincing to use 'the author(s)' although this is again personal to some extent!
Concerning the use of active or passive voice, this also goes back to what the writer wants to express. Generally, it is better to use active voice in academic writings; however, there are some contexts where a writer is supposed to use passive voice as the emphasis on the object rather than the subject. Here is some example:
"… Put differently, it is employed by researchers in conducting …. which informs the 'reality' sought after by researchers".
"… Put differently, researchers employ it in conducting …. which informs the 'reality' researchers seek".
Both examples sound to be OK. But in the passive voice form, the emphasis is on the "it" rather than the researchers who actually are the doers. Similar is the case with the second part of the sentence wherein the focus is on 'reality' rather than 'researchers'.
Hope this helps!
Best!
Avoid personal pronouns and use active voice. But there are no rules, so do what you like!
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