# Is it ok to post questions where you want to have your calculations checked by someone? [duplicate]

I am always second-guessing my calculations and to be honest multivariate calculus is not my strong point. Is it all right to post questions where you have done the derivations but would like more pairs of eyes to look at it?

• Agree with Andre Silva. – Luca Feb 4 '15 at 14:50

I think this is fine, but with two caveats.

1. You should probably add the [self-study] tag, and be explicit about your situation. (Be sure to read its wiki as well.)
2. It isn't clear from your description that there is a lot of statistical content to your proposed questions (I assume there is, or you wouldn't be asking here). Depending on how much of your question would be about the statistical aspect vs. how much would be just a double check on your math skills, it may be more appropriate to post your question on math.SE instead.
• Thanks for the clarification. There is statistical content. To take the particular example, I am trying to use EM to estimate the parameters for a particular model. So, it is a combination of statistics (for example, certain operations with expectations) and also of course some calculus steps which i do not do with full conviction yet. – Luca Jan 21 '15 at 17:30
• @Luca, that certainly seems within the scope of CV to me. – gung - Reinstate Monica Jan 21 '15 at 17:32
• I guess there is a third caveat, when the question is not a question and what is posted is correct; in such cases, a valid answer could be "yes, the calculations/analyses/etc are correct". – Andre Silva Jan 21 '15 at 20:01
• @AndreSilva, that would be ironic, but the OP wouldn't know in advance that everything is correct. I think that is an acceptable risk, & the Q should be considered on-topic even if it might be right. That's just my opinion. – gung - Reinstate Monica Jan 21 '15 at 21:11
• May be a special tag should be set up for the questions of this kind, like [proofs-derivations]. Or at least the existing [proof]. – StasK Jan 26 '15 at 4:40

I feel like this question is almost a duplicate of this question.

I think this is a great idea, but as per Gung's suggestion in the above link, you may want to consider answering your own question rather than including the answer up front. Feedback can then be given through comments and if you are severely wrong another answer can be submitted.

• Absolutely right! I will also ask the mods to merge my question with that one. Apologies for not finding it myself. – Luca Feb 4 '15 at 14:50

You might want to consult your professor or the group that handles academic dishonesty at your institution. The way it works at our institution, this would classify as an unauthorized source of help that could lead to an honor code violation (academic sanction potentially leading to expulsion) unless the professor specifically said that you could work with others on the assignment.

If the professor says that it is OK to get help from others, you'll probably want to ensure that the scope of "others" is everyone and not just the professor, TAs, and classmates.

• I was not talking about an assignment. – Luca Jan 29 '15 at 17:44
• It's a reasonable point in the event that others end up on this question. A lot of people ask for homework help and it is probably a gray area that can lead to a lot of problems if it happens to be discovered. – Mike Burr Jan 29 '15 at 17:46
• Although in a strong sense this kind of reservation applies to everything in this forum, this seems to me a fair point and not deserving of the downvote it received. I upvoted it. – Nick Cox Jan 29 '15 at 20:31