Using the boundaries of science to do boundary-work among scientists: pollution and purity claims

Abstract

The primary purpose of this article is to demonstrate how the boundary between science and non-science gets used to do boundary-work among scientists. Claims that scientists have been polluted by breaches of this boundary, or, conversely, claims that scientists remain pure and unpolluted, are effectively ways to construct boundaries within science, between more and less authoritative scientists. A secondary purpose of this article is to identify sources of pollution and purity claims. Examples are taken from a case study of the role owl and forest scientists played in constructing nature and environmental policy in the Pacific Northwest.