Should you use the word you in a research paper?

Answer 1

Using "you" to address readers indirectly, as a general unspecified group, is widely discouraged. Therefore, as a general rule, in formal reports, you should not use "you" as I have used it in this sentence. [Alternative forms: One should not use "you" to address no one in particular... Or, "You" should not be used to address no one in particular.]

Critics (editors, professors, teachers, writing coaches) point to three uses of "you" in writing: (1) to address specific readers directly; (2) to address readers indirectly; (3) to address the general population indirectly, specifying no one or no group in particular. The first use is unobjectionable. Example: "If you, the key members of the research team, accept those data, then you will draw incorrect inferences." Using "you" to address readers directly is informal, and If that tone is what you, as the writer, seek, then you will achieve it by using "you." The rule that many critics advance, however, is that a research report should not address readers directly. The second and third uses -- the "indirect" use of you to address either the readers or no one in particular -- has been disparaged as informal and especially unsuitable for research reports. In such contexts, some critics advise "one" or the passive voice. Example: "If one accepts those data..." or "If those data are accepted..." "One" and the passive voice are formal, distant, and impersonal, and when that tone is called for, as it is in research reports, then those forms are appropriate.

Answer 2

It depends on the teacher and grade level.