Developed in collaboration with twelve leading international universities, it is designed to make social sciences research easy and enjoyable to discover, says Emerald Publishing.
According to the publishers, Emerald Insight – the home of over 300 journals, 3,000 books, 1,700 case studies and a growing collection of open access content – has been entirely reimagined and rebuilt. The forward-thinking design offers an engaging and rewarding user experience; showcasing researchers’ work, paving the way for rapid evolution and meeting future research needs.
Emerald Publishing’s Marketing Director, Harriet Bell, said: “We wanted to build a platform that makes researchers’ and readers’ lives easier, whether they are a student, in academia, in policy, practice or the wider public. We are committed to making research that benefits society as visible and easy to discover as possible – for the widest audience. As the new platform takes shape, every decision is being tested and validated in partnership with our communities.”
“The technology and processes behind the new Emerald Insight allow us to respond quickly to researcher and reader needs and the changing dynamics of scholarly communication. Our July launch is just the very first step on an exciting and progressive journey. Our ambition is to deliver a platform that connects impactful research with the people who use it, for the benefit of all”, she added.
Jennie Winterburn, one of the development partners from Leeds University, believes the new platform will be an invaluable tool for academics and librarians. “The site is logical, pleasant to use and easy to navigate, providing contextual detail and further sources of information,” she said. “It enables me to better support the research community through signposting of recommended journals and guidance for authors.”
Meanwhile, Emerald’s development partner at the University of Houston explained: “There’s a much cleaner look, and key details like article date, author and concept have been given greater prominence, while activating the PDF link is also a lot easier. Effective communication and requests for feedback allowed beta users to feel like they were part of the process and enabled them to see the impact their responses were having.”
They added: “I appreciate the care and concern which the Emerald team has exhibited when seeking feedback, particularly from end users such as faculty personnel and students.”
Migration to the new platform will happen by July 2019.
Emerald says it is committed to continuous development of the platform towards a future of increasingly open, rapid and widely disseminated social science research which reaches throughout and beyond the academy, to beneficiaries of that research in policy, practice and the public. This major investment positions Emerald to co-produce future services with research and practitioner communities, says the company.
