Is it recommended to use "we" in research papers?

Question

Is it recommended to use "we" in research papers? If not, should I always use passive voice?

Answer 1

Generally speaking, it is frowned upon to use any first- or second-person pronouns in academic writing (i.e. I, me, my, myself, you, your, yours, yourself, we, us, our, ourselves). That's because in truly scientific writing, your personal identity should play no role in the validity or framing of your research and reporting.