Electrical Engineering Question Checklist

Question

In an effort to explicitly state our expectations for questions on EE.SE, I have adapted the StackOverflow Question Checklist by Jon Skeet. Below are a set of questions to check after you have written your question (or what to think about beforehand).

• Have you done some research before asking the question? ¹
• Have you explained what you've already tried to solve your problem?
• Have you specified part numbers for devices you're using, including packaging information where relevant?
• Have you included links to all relevant datasheets?
• If your question includes a circuit, have you included a schematic?
• If your question includes schematic, have you checked that it's correctly formatted? ²
• If your question doesn't include a schematic, are you sure it shouldn't?
• If your circuit produces different results to what you expected, have you stated what you expected, why you expected it, and the actual results?
• Have you checked that your question looks reasonable in terms of formatting?
• Have you checked the spelling and grammar to the best of your ability? ³
• Have you expanded all unusual/ambiguous acronyms and abbreviations? ⁴
• Have you read the whole question to yourself carefully, to make sure it makes sense and contains enough information for someone coming to it without any of the context that you already know?

If the answer to any of these questions is "no" you should take the time to fix up your question before posting, by going through this list. I realize this may seem like a lot of effort, but it will help you to get a useful answer as quickly as possible; and you might even solve your problem yourself in the process! ⁵

In addition, when posting a question, you need to ensure you will be able to regularily check the possible feedbacks from other users, especially during the first minutes/hours after posting. Potential answerers may ask for clarifications or additional information, and if you don't reply in a timely manner, they may be tempted to let it go.

Don't forget that you're basically asking other people to help you out of the goodness of their heart - it's up to you to do all you can to make that as simple as possible.

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¹ _{If you went from "something's not working" to "asking a question" in less than 10 minutes, you probably haven't done enough research. This should include things like normal web searches (e.g. for an error message you're receiving), checking the documentation, debugging (particularly for exceptions) and searching on Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange itself for similar questions.}

² _{Olin Lathrop has written an excellent guide on making good schematics.}

³ _{I realize that English isn't the first language for many Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange users. We're not looking for perfection - just some effort. If you know your English isn't good, see if a colleague or friend can help you with your question before you post it.}

⁴ _{If in doubt whether an acronym needs to be made explicit, consider that anything less common than "MCU" should be clarified. Abbreviations are better avoided entirely.}

⁵ _{This is a bit like rubber duck debugging.}

Answer 1

Unfortunately I feel that someone asking a question on EE.SE that couldn't be bothered to perform some internet searches, also cannot be bothered to read a checklist. Even if it's short and concise (which it should be), they are going to cast their fishing line and hope for a bite.

That said, I totally support a checklist. Those asking a question that have done some legwork beforehand could greatly benefit from a few reminders. I know I've personally asked questions and forgot to link a datasheet, editing the question later with relevant information.