I am getting some conflicting advice on this from my dep. I wondered what other people are doing? I know I feel more comfortable writing in the 1st and have come across a few more papers and books written in the 1st rather than the 3rd, but one of my supers is dead against it.

Apart from the acknowledgments I have been advised to write in the third person throughout. But my area is social policy. I guess if you were undertaking any kind of feminist methodology it would be a given to write in the first person. I think a lot of people still believe that in order for the soc sciences to be taken seriously they have to be seen to be untainted by anything other than established fact and therefore by writing in the third person you are implying your impartiality.I have never had the opportunity to write first person but would love to do it...but my sups are dead against it.

I've seen phds written in the 1st person in my department (education, which is basically social science). I personally think the argument over 1st/3rd person is rediculous - and writing in the 3rd person as if that automatically lends some "objectivity" to research is daft.

Have a look at this thread pea:
http://www.postgraduateforum.com/showmessage.asp?thread=6324&cat=4&keyword=404&newview=1&stype=U&category=0

Hello
I am doing a social science PhD and don't believe you can be objective or need to be objective even; however, i always use the 3rd person because it reads in a more sophisticated way. Maybe if you are making a point about your personal involvement in the work and are taking quite a strong post modern approach then using 'I' could make a statement, but I would always err with caution and use third person.

I must say I use both. First person is great for emphasis, my supervisors are happy with this, and certainly from an ontological standpoint I believe 1st person is appropriate. I struggled at first though, esp. as I'm doing a mixed methods PhD so have both qual and quant in it, so being consistent with the language can be hard. I guess it's important to have your supervisors on side, and maybe think about who is likely to examine your thesis..?

I've been writing in both but then again I am using feminist methodology and addressing issues of researcher identity and reflexivity. To me, research and fieldwork is personal and emotional but I also know that there will be many contentions with this statement. I guess it just depends on what perspective you are coming from.

feminist methodology here as well- I've done most of my writing in first person, I am much more comfortable with this, and in my field - social movements/gender studies it is very rare to find anything in third person, unless it's quite old stuff.

Hi,
I had the exact same debate as I am also doing a social science phd and I decided to use the 1st person. It is great for reflecting on how far you as a researcher and student have come over your PhD journey. I am sure the examiners would rather read a well written document and so if you are comfortable writing in the 1st person - go for it. Also your examiners will be familar with social science and humanity writing styles so wont object to this style.

Cool, thanks everyone.