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There is a math. ecology paper that I am interested in using in my own project but the math that is used in the paper is outside of my knowledge base. So ideally I was hoping to post the paper and the relevant section and hope that somebody might be able to give an insight on how to go about calculating the integrals that the authors use in their work.

Before I do this, I want to make sure that type of post wouldn't be a burden to the forum.

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    $\begingroup$ To complement what quid has already mentioned, you want to make sure that you help others understand your question so that they can answer it easily, and not make it such that they have to e.g. read through the whole paper in order to get what the question is about. This will increase your chances of getting a good response too. $\endgroup$
    – YiFan
    Oct 21 '19 at 23:20
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This is acceptable if you can make your question reasonably self-contained.

That is, for example:

  • Your actual question could be how to calculate an integral, and this integral should be included in the post.

  • Your context could be that this integral shows up in a paper your are studying and you link to the paper for further context and mention the specific point where it occurs.

What you should not do is ask a question that only says 'How to obtain equations 12.2 and 12.4 in {some paper}.' or even worse 'How to obtain the integral in {some paper}.'

Also, strive to make the question not too broad. If you have questions about several integrals start with one and see how it goes. If needed, you can then ask a second question.

Finally, it could be useful to mention something about your mathematical background so that persons answering can decide more easily what should be the appropriate level of the answers.

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