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You can definitely contact a paper author. They might be of the 'it obviously follows' == after 5 pages of calculations kind, or the empiricist who published the 20 successful regressions or simulations out of 200, with 180 contradicting their result or being inconclusive; and in either case ignore your question. From personal experience though, it can even lead to breakthroughs: in my case, someone sent me his lecture notes which clarified something I was stuck with, and related to the submitted question. However, if your advisor knows the author, or simply is well-known in their field, do mention that you are their student, as it should increase good will on the author's part - after confirming with your advisor they are cool with that. Showing that you are active, interested, and independent should also go down well with the advisor.

You can definitely contact a paper author. They might be of the 'it obviously follows' == after 5 pages of calculations kind, or the empiricist who published the 20 successful regressions or simulations out of 200, with 180 contradicting their result or being inconclusive; and in either case ignore your question. From personal experience though, it can even lead to breakthroughs: in my case, someone sent me his lecture notes which clarified something I was stuck with, and related to the submitted question. However, if your advisor knows the author, or simply is well-known in their field, do mention that you are their student, as it should increase good will on the author's part - after confirming with your advisor that they are cool with it. Showing that you are active, interested, and independent should also go down well with the advisor.

You can definitely contact a paper author. He or she might be of the 'it obviously follows' == after 5 pages of calculations kind; or the empiricist who published the 20 successful regressions or simulations out of 200 with 180 contradicting his or her result or being inconclusive; and in either case ignore your question. From personal experience though, it can even lead to breakthroughs: in my case, someone sent me his lecture notes which clarified something I was stuck with, and related to the submitted question. However, if your advisor knows the author, or simply is well-known in his field, do mention that you work with him or her, as it should increase good will on the authors part - after confirming with your advisor he is cool with that. Showing that you are active, interested, and independent should also go down well with the advisor.

You can definitely contact a paper author. They might be of the 'it obviously follows' == after 5 pages of calculations kind, or the empiricist who published the 20 successful regressions or simulations out of 200, with 180 contradicting their result or being inconclusive; and in either case ignore your question. From personal experience though, it can even lead to breakthroughs: in my case, someone sent me his lecture notes which clarified something I was stuck with, and related to the submitted question. However, if your advisor knows the author, or simply is well-known in their field, do mention that you are their student, as it should increase good will on the author's part - after confirming with your advisor they are cool with that. Showing that you are active, interested, and independent should also go down well with the advisor.

You can definitely contact a paper author. He or she might be of the 'it obviously follow' == after 5 pages of calculations kind; or the empiricist who published the 20 successful regressions or simulations out of 200 with 180 contradicting his or her result or being inconclusive; and in either case ignore your question. From personal experience though, it can even lead to breakthroughs: in my case, someone sent me his lecture notes which clarified something I was stuck with, and related to the submitted question. However, if your advisor knows the author, or simply is well-known in his field, do mention that you work with him or her, as it should increase good will on the authors part - after confirming with your advisor he is cool with that. Showing that you are active, interested, and independent should also go down well with the advisor.

You can definitely contact a paper author. He or she might be of the 'it obviously follows' == after 5 pages of calculations kind; or the empiricist who published the 20 successful regressions or simulations out of 200 with 180 contradicting his or her result or being inconclusive; and in either case ignore your question. From personal experience though, it can even lead to breakthroughs: in my case, someone sent me his lecture notes which clarified something I was stuck with, and related to the submitted question. However, if your advisor knows the author, or simply is well-known in his field, do mention that you work with him or her, as it should increase good will on the authors part - after confirming with your advisor he is cool with that. Showing that you are active, interested, and independent should also go down well with the advisor.