In linguistic terms, hedges, as well as citations, are modalities, which are any qualifications or conditions placed on a statement. A modality makes the intent of the statement that contains it conditional. Hedges, by definition, cause a state-
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.