I'm writing an essay in third person and I want to say that I took a survey to show evidence. Should I refer to myself in third person or just state the survey without saying I took it?

refer to yourself

Explanation:

Even though your doing an essay in third person, let your audience know you took the survey and then, go back into third person, let them know easy it is or how hard it is. Also you could leave your audience in suspense.