When presenting research in a research statement (past achievements and preliminary data supporting future research goals) do you say “we/our” or “I/my”? It’s collaborative work (isn’t it always?), but the portion relevant to what I’m proposing is my portion and my hypothesis. For the previous work, it’s from my dissertation — the pubs (in review) resulting from it are of course “we/our” but it’s my work.
What is correct? “We/our” seems like it would be confusing (who else is coming if we hire you?), but “I/my” feels like I’m not acknowledging collaborators. What’s right / best?
Thank you for any help!
Comments
Use ‘I/my’ when describing your own contributions, especially since it’s your statement and you’re the one being evaluated. You can still acknowledge collaborators briefly, like ‘In collaboration with X, I developed…’ that way it’s clear what you did while still giving credit.
Always “we” unless I name a person.
The person named will never be me.
I if it is my claim/argument and I am single author.
We if I am writing with co-authors.
We if I am inviting the reader to do something with me, e.g. “we can understand X as. . .”
Personally I prefer word choices that are accurate.
For a job application I’d default to mostly “I”—as you say, the team is not applying for the job, you are. That said, I’d be careful to acknowledge collaborative work and clarify my own contributions.
It’s generally safer to use “we” in research statements. It’s less about absolute accuracy and more about the impression it conveys. “we” can signal collaboration and inclusivity, which is often viewed favorably by reviewers. Depending on the context, “I” might come across as isolating or overly individualistic, so “we” tends to be the more strategic and neutral choice.
“We”, except in the case of a thesis defense or job interview. Basically, always credit the entire group unless you are highlighting a colleague or if there is a specific reason why the audience would need to know who did what.