McMaster Experts, the university’s research discovery and researcher profile platform, has launched a major update, more than a year in the making.
The refreshed site features an improved interface with enhanced information, functionality, visuals, and performance that better present McMaster’s researchers, their expertise and scholarly activities to the world.
“We’re making Experts more responsive to what people want to see, what they're interested in, and what they think would be valuable to them,” said Sabrina Kirby, research technology analyst.
McMaster Experts provides a comprehensive view of active scholarship at the university, serving as a discovery gateway to make research and researchers more connected and findable.
Experts profiles are integrated with the Experts Profile Manager, McMaster’s research information management system. This allows profile owners to curate synthesized information about their expertise, experience, and research and teaching activities.
The platform was developed by the McMaster Experts team following broad consultation with members of the McMaster research community and with support from Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs and Media Production Services.
The update overhauls Experts’ web infrastructure, creating a more dynamic environment that allows the development team to respond to user feedback and introduce new features more efficiently.
New features include:
- Enhanced search and filtering to explore McMaster’s researchers, their expertise and scholarly works
- Improved performance and speed
- Updated visuals aligned with McMaster’s brand
- Additional profile information, including teaching and research summaries
Planned features to come include:
- Embeddable media
- Ability to indicate availability for collaboration and/or supervision opportunities
Jacob Sloots, developer at McMaster University Libraries, says the update makes it easier for the team to deliver on long-requested features.
“We had this long list of features for a while, but now we finally have the tools to bring them to life,” said Sloots. “It’s great to look at that list now and be able to pick out which feature tackle first.”
The McMaster Experts team welcomes feedback and ideas for future updates.
Jay Brodeur, director of digital scholarship infrastructure and services, says he’s proud of the team’s work on the site’s refresh.
“The ground-up redesign of this site represents the team’s commitment to present the institution’s experts to the world in ways they wish to be presented,” said Brodeur. “We are grateful for the academic community’s feedback and look forward to working with them to direct McMaster Experts’ continuing evolution.”
The platform was developed by the McMaster Experts team following broad consultation with members of the McMaster research community and with support from Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs and Media Production Services.
Learn More
Researchers can explore the updated site at McMaster Experts and continue to update their profiles through the Experts Profile Manager.
For more information, contact the support team at experts@mcmaster.ca.
