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Table of Contents
Build your public profile
Use this section when you need to:
- make yourself discoverable in the Experts directory
- understand which profile fields affect retrieval and collaboration most strongly
- export your profile, update it with ORCID, or edit it manually
- understand how expertise endorsement works
Main roles:
- Signed-in users
- Contributor
- Mantainer
Related sections:
Your public profile is not a decorative extra in HORTUS.
It is the bridge between identity, search retrieval, visibility, and collaboration. A well-completed profile improves discoverability because it gives the platform more structured signals to match against search queries and filters. It also helps other researchers decide quickly whether to contact you, invite you into a project, or follow your work.
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Why profile completeness matters
| Profile element | Why it matters for discovery and visibility | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Fields of interest | They help HORTUS associate you with topics, searches, and thematic communities. | Use consistent subject language and avoid overly vague terms. |
| SSD classifications | They add formal disciplinary structure and improve retrieval precision. | Use them carefully because they influence how others understand your domain position. |
| Expertise | They make your methods and competences visible in search, browse, and profile evaluation. | Keep them specific enough to guide real collaboration decisions. |
| Biography and affiliation | They provide enough context for someone who does not already know you. | Write for researchers outside your immediate institutional circle. |
| Public email visibility | It changes how directly others can contact you from the profile. | Use it only if you are comfortable with wider public contact. |
| Open to collaborations | This is a strong signal used by other researchers when deciding whom to contact. | Turn it on if you actively welcome outreach. |
| CV and publications | They provide evidence of scholarly work and support trust in your profile. | Keep them current enough to reflect your actual expertise. |
Expert profile view and expertise endorsement
When someone opens your public expert profile, they are evaluating whether you are relevant to their work. The profile page therefore needs to be readable, specific, and coherent. HORTUS also supports lightweight expertise endorsement: other researchers can endorse an expertise item by clicking the “+” button next to it where the interface exposes that control. This does not replace proper profile editing, but it strengthens the visibility of recognised skills.
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| Expert profile CTA | What it does | Typical user reason |
|---|---|---|
| Message | Opens a direct conversation route to the profile owner. | Start collaboration without exposing personal email in an ad-hoc way. |
| Favourite / follow | Adds the profile to your saved list and may subscribe you to updates. | Keep important people visible across sessions. |
| Download CV | Downloads the attached CV where present. | Review formal academic background or experience. |
| Endorse expertise | Adds a lightweight endorsement to a visible expertise item. | Signal that an expertise area is recognised and relevant. |
Update your profile with ORCID
Where enabled, ORCID can be used both as an identity route and as a profile enrichment route. This is especially useful when you want to refresh publication metadata without manually re-entering each item. The ORCID import flow is governed: the interface warns that imported publication information can overwrite user-provided content, so review the confirmation carefully before proceeding.
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Edit profile manually
Manual editing is the route to use when your profile needs targeted adjustments or when ORCID does not contain the structure you want. The manual editor exposes the fields that matter most for discoverability: links, biography, location, affiliation, SSD classifications, expertise, interests, CV upload, and publications.
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| Manual edit CTA | How to use it | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Upload CV | Use the CV upload area in the manual editor. | Adds a downloadable supporting document to your profile. |
| Add publication by DOI | Open the DOI publication widget and enter a DOI. | Lets the interface fetch publication metadata automatically where supported. |
| Add publication manually | Use the manual publication widget. | Creates a structured bibliographic entry even when DOI metadata is unavailable. |
| Save profile | Use Save after reviewing both edit pages. | Commits the profile changes to your public profile. |
Best practice: complete the fields that are most useful to others first — biography, affiliation, expertise, interests, collaboration openness, CV, and publications — then refine secondary details later