The Versatile "Caveat" Section of a Scientific Paper: Managing Public and Private Risk more

Are toxic-exposure epidemiologists influenced, when writing the “caveat’ portion of their papers, by how the media, public, and courts might use their work? Qualitative interviews with 61 epidemiologists revealed that they relied on caveats to manage “public risk”--inappropriate use of their work by non-scientists. However, few considered caveats effective for this task. Caveats may be more important for managing professional risk, for subjects used caveats to: preempt criticism; advertise their credibility; adhere to conventions; hedge; and deflect attention from flaws in their papers. The data bear implications for the definition of "science," demarcation of scientists from non-scientists, and scientists' responsibility.