"Although both methods have their advantages the former is preferable because"
You could use the word "seems," but some professors hate that word because it sounds indecisive.
It is important for me to tell you that in cases like this, when people really do not want to use the first person perspective, they often refer to themselves in the 3rd person:
The researcher prefers XXXX, because...
The student worked with both methods and determined that he preferred...
:-) does that solve the problem?
I have read in Cresswell (2008) that is qualitative work it is okay to use 1st person, and in quantitative work it is better to use 3rd person.