Explanation is closely related to several other interesting topics.

• Complexity: The more complex a topic, the more in need it is of satisfactory explanations. Complexity is a far ranging and deep topic, and insights gleaned from it should be applicable to the field of explanation.
• Argumentation has been studied for millenia. Often, an explanation must be argued. Hence, qualities that make for good arguments can be examined for applicability to explanations.
• Modeling: One way to better understand a topic is to formally model it, and a variety of formal modeling techniques and notations have been devised. Explanatory frameworks, as used by this website, support the modeling of different classes of explanations in a way that promotes the clarity and precision of such explanations. Understanding formal models and modeling can contribute to improving the usefulness of these frameworks.
• Software: Among the artifacts most in need of explanation are software systems. Understanding can take the form of documentation justifying that the program's outputs are in fact correct. Applying results from the field of program understanding may support the quality of general explanations.