I just found out that I have been unjustly blaming the APA manual/style guide. I have frequently referred to some academic or scientific writing as 'soulless' and impersonal and a lot of this writing follows the APA style. However, yesterday, while I compared the author requirements among several journals, it occurred to me for the first time, to take a look to see what the APA manual actually says about use of first person. Of course, use of first person may be one of the hallmarks of qualitative inquiry (and reporting of) and is certainly a feature that often distinguishes qual from quan. The idea of the researcher as instrument (from Patton, 2002, Sage, among others) gives a human-centered and personal element to qualitative methods. But, in looking up 'first person' in the APA publication 6th edition index (2010, author as publisher), I did not find anything, although I did find a page reference for 'third person.' It turns out that the manual authors not only addressed use of first versus third person, but they also advocated in favor of use of first person "when describing steps taken in your experiment" (p. 69). Further down on this same page: "An experiment cannot attempt to demonstrate, control unwanted variables, or interpret findings...I or we (meaning the author or authors) can replace the experiment.
I had two thoughts resulting from this finding. One was that I cannot wait to submit a research report or article with first person used (appropriately) to a non qualitative journal to see what editorial comments I receive. The second was - 'where did the idea come from that we cannot ever use first person?' I think a lot of people have an idea of what the scientific writing 'voice' should 'sound' like, so I wonder how many (other) misconceptions might be represented within that idea. Right now I am going through a general period of puzzling over the process of filling in the gaps in information, mostly inspired by some of the students in classes I am teaching or have taught. People seem to creatively reinterpret directions on a regular basis. Is this based on expectations, norms, or personal or other factors? But, before I go further with that question, I am going to explore some of the other publication 'rules' to see if first person is explicitly addressed or prohibited. Lastly, I do want to apologize to APA style for unfairly blaming them/it for this practice.
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AuthorI am Sheryl L. Chatfield, Ph.D, C.T.R.S. I am a member of the faculty in the College of Public Health at Kent State University. I also Co-coordinate the Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research and I am a member of the Design Innovation Team at Kent State. Archives
February 2024
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