Occasionally we get questions that are about the on-topic areas listed in the help center, but that are considered off-topic here because an expert answer to such a question would come from an expert in something else (not academia.)
For example,
- Are Harvard-style open access policies lawful under civil law? is about academic publishing, which is on-topic, but needs expertise in law (not expertise in academia) to answer.
- How does one determine he has a learning disability? is about life as a graduate student, which is on-topic, but requires expertise in adult learning disabilities (i.e. from psychologists, educational specialists, etc.), not expertise in academia, to answer.
Should we add another item to this list in the help center
However, please do not ask questions about
- Undergraduate-specific issues that could not apply to graduate or post-graduate academicians
- Suggestions or recommendations for a university, journal, or research topic (a "shopping question")
- Preparation for a non-academic career ("What graduate degree will help me get a job as X?")
- The content of your research, rather than the process of doing research
specifying that this kind of question is off-topic?
For example, we might add
Subjects that require expertise from another domain, that could not reasonably be answered by experts in academia. For example, questions about legal-issues affecting academics that require expertise in law to answer should be asked at Law Stack Exchange, not here. Similarly, questions about health-issues affecting academics that require medical expertise to answer should be asked at Health Stack Exchange, not here.