# \[TEST\] disambiguation

**URL:** <https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/test-disambiguation/564>\
**Category:** CSL Development\
**Created:** [March 15, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/test-disambiguation/564 "2009-03-15T15:50:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 11\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bruce\_D\_Arcus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Bruce\_D\_Arcus1](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/u/Bruce_D_Arcus1)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/test-disambiguation/564/1 "2009-03-15T15:50:20Z")

</div>

Frank,

I see you’re putting in some test-related data. As a next step, how  
about let’s write a few tests that fail?

E.g. how should we formalize the discussion of disambiguation in tests?

We probably need to test:

add\_given\_names:

add\_title:

add\_year\_suffix:

… and maybe one or two that mix them.

Bruce

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**Author:** ![Frank\_Bennett](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/discourse.citationstyles.org/frank_bennett/32/198_2.png) [@Frank\_Bennett](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/u/Frank_Bennett)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/test-disambiguation/564/2 "2009-03-15T21:24:31Z")

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> Frank,
> 
> I see you’re putting in some test-related data. As a next step, how  
> about let’s write a few tests that fail?

I’ll try to check in a little framework code today, that attempts to  
read and run a  
test in the standard format.

It’s an implementation thing, but for the moment I’m stuck at some  
threshold issues. The test data is stored (as is right) in an unordered  
form, so some means of imposing a sequence will be needed, in order  
to read in a name. Thinking about that issue, I can also see that  
whether a name part is rendered as initials or in full form is not  
firmly tied either to its sequence position (cf. Japan or China, where  
abbreviation should not be used) nor to the syntactic meaning of the  
name part (cf. Mongolia, where given name rather than family name  
or patronymic is the core term). Ordinarily, I would look for some small  
piece of the problem that can be solved atomically, get that in place,  
and use it as a building block for the next increment of logic. But with  
several interrelated layers of ontology (if that’s the right word) and  
formatting, and with the disambiguation rules waiting in the wings, I’m  
kind of puzzled over where to start.

To boil that down to something a little more concise, I think I need  
to figure out how to get names in a correct, un-disambiguated form,  
before going on to the higher math of disambiguation and sorting.

Even more concisely, “What’s in a name?” 🙂

But I’ll try to check in an integration test, at least, to provide  
a target to work toward.

Frank

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**Author:** ![Bruce\_D\_Arcus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Bruce\_D\_Arcus1](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/u/Bruce_D_Arcus1)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/test-disambiguation/564/3 "2009-03-15T22:24:03Z")

</div>

Right. but once you get that set so it works for Asian names and such  
too (the hard part), then we just break it into little pieces. E.g.:

Given a citation with:

- a reference from “Jane Doe” and another from “John Doe”
- our style says:
  - names should in family-name-only form, and …
  - “disamibiguate-add-giveenname” is true

Then names need to be disambiguated.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Frank\_Bennett](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/discourse.citationstyles.org/frank_bennett/32/198_2.png) [@Frank\_Bennett](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/u/Frank_Bennett)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/test-disambiguation/564/4 "2009-03-15T22:49:08Z")

</div>

> > It’s an implementation thing, but for the moment I’m stuck at some  
> > threshold issues. The test data is stored (as is right) in an unordered  
> > form, so some means of imposing a sequence will be needed, in order  
> > to read in a name. Thinking about that issue, I can also see that  
> > whether a name part is rendered as initials or in full form is not  
> > firmly tied either to its sequence position (cf. Japan or China, where  
> > abbreviation should not be used) nor to the syntactic meaning of the  
> > name part (cf. Mongolia, where given name rather than family name  
> > or patronymic is the core term). Ordinarily, I would look for some small  
> > piece of the problem that can be solved atomically, get that in place,  
> > and use it as a building block for the next increment of logic. But with  
> > several interrelated layers of ontology (if that’s the right word) and  
> > formatting, and with the disambiguation rules waiting in the wings, I’m  
> > kind of puzzled over where to start.
> > 
> > To boil that down to something a little more concise, I think I need  
> > to figure out how to get names in a correct, un-disambiguated form,  
> > before going on to the higher math of disambiguation and sorting.
> 
> Right. but once you get that set so it works for Asian names and such  
> too (the hard part), then we just break it into little pieces. E.g.:
> 
> Given a citation with:
> 
> - a reference from “Jane Doe” and another from “John Doe”
> - our style says:
> - names should in family-name-only form, and …
> - “disamibiguate-add-giveenname” is true
> 
> Then names need to be disambiguated.

Yes. One thing that has me stuck (well, stalled), though, is the  
possibility of interaction between a type-Asian name (not sure yet  
if that’s a sensible thing to call it) and style rules. If all styles will  
use the name TAKEDA Shingen in that order, without abbreviation,  
then ordering, non-abbreviation (no initials), and use of the full name is  
a property of the name. But if some styles will insist on listing this  
as Shingen TAKEDA, or as S. TAKEDA, then some more complex  
layering of metadata will be required. So I’m not sure what the  
object to be manipulated at the disambiguation stage should look like,  
what structure or elements it will need to have.

It’s a puzzle that will have to simmer for awhile, I think, but I’ll  
keep puzzling over it. It would be _very_ good to know more about  
the possible demands that styles might place on the formatter.  
That would help to dispel some of the fear, uncertainty and  
doubt that creeps in when I try to think about this stuff. Maybe  
Elena can cast some light on that?

Frank

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**Author:** ![Frank\_Bennett](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/discourse.citationstyles.org/frank_bennett/32/198_2.png) [@Frank\_Bennett](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/u/Frank_Bennett)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/test-disambiguation/564/5 "2009-03-16T00:08:21Z")

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**Author:** ![Rintze\_Zelle](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/discourse.citationstyles.org/rintze_zelle/32/175_2.png) [@Rintze\_Zelle](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/u/Rintze_Zelle)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:38am UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/test-disambiguation/564/6 "2009-03-16T06:38:55Z")

</div>

Some do:  
[http://www.journalarchive.jst.go.jp/english/jnlabstract\_en.php?cdjournal=bbb1961&cdvol=49&noissue=6&startpage=1633](http://www.journalarchive.jst.go.jp/english/jnlabstract_en.php?cdjournal=bbb1961&cdvol=49&noissue=6&startpage=1633)  
Despite being a Japanese journal, the bibliography lists all the (mostly  
Asian) names in a Western abbreviated style. I also can’t recall ever having  
seen a journal in my field that doesn’t do the same thing (i.e. overrule the  
Asian-type name listing).

RintzeOn Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 11:49 PM, Frank Bennett \<@Frank\_Bennett\>wrote:

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**Author:** ![Frank\_Bennett](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/discourse.citationstyles.org/frank_bennett/32/198_2.png) [@Frank\_Bennett](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/u/Frank_Bennett)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/test-disambiguation/564/7 "2009-03-16T07:20:07Z")

</div>

> > Yes. One thing that has me stuck (well, stalled), though, is the  
> > possibility of interaction between a type-Asian name (not sure yet  
> > if that’s a sensible thing to call it) and style rules. If all styles  
> > will  
> > use the name TAKEDA Shingen in that order, without abbreviation,  
> > then ordering, non-abbreviation (no initials), and use of the full name is  
> > a property of the name. But if some styles will insist on listing this  
> > as Shingen TAKEDA, or as S. TAKEDA, then some more complex  
> > layering of metadata will be required.
> 
> Some do:  
> [http://www.journalarchive.jst.go.jp/english/jnlabstract\_en.php?cdjournal=bbb1961&cdvol=49&noissue=6&startpage=1633](http://www.journalarchive.jst.go.jp/english/jnlabstract_en.php?cdjournal=bbb1961&cdvol=49&noissue=6&startpage=1633)  
> Despite being a Japanese journal, the bibliography lists all the (mostly  
> Asian) names in a Western abbreviated style. I also can’t recall ever having  
> seen a journal in my field that doesn’t do the same thing (i.e. overrule the  
> Asian-type name listing).

I’m sure that’s the most common approach, come to think of it. Here’s  
a counter-example, for what it’s worth (mostly non-Japanese authors,  
but there’s a review by “Anno Tadashi” in there, and that one is  
definitely in family-given order):

[http://monumenta.cc.sophia.ac.jp/](http://monumenta.cc.sophia.ac.jp/)

So I guess it’s our fate to write interesting computer code, so to speak. 🙂

Frank2009/3/16 Rintze Zelle \<@Rintze\_Zelle\>:

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**Author:** ![Bruce\_D\_Arcus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Bruce\_D\_Arcus1](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/u/Bruce_D_Arcus1)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 1:49pm UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/test-disambiguation/564/8 "2009-03-16T13:49:00Z")

</div>

Here’s another fun one, both for names, as well as other stuff.

[http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/jjrsMain.htm](http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/jjrsMain.htm)

Example:

De Bary, Wm. Theodore De Bary, et al, eds.,  
1969 The Buddhist Tradition in India, China, and Japan. New York:  
The Modern  
Library.  
Ishii Shūdō 石井修道  
1987 Sōdai zenshūshi no kenkyū 宋代禅宗史の研究. Tokyo: Daitō Shuppansha.  
1988 Chūgoku zenshūshi wa: “Mana Shōbōgenzō” ni manabu 中国全集史話「漢  
字正法眼蔵」に学ぶ. Kyoto: Zen Bunka Kenkyūjō.

So Kanji AND transliterated roman names, as well as standard Western  
names. Each are treated differently.

Note also the grouping issue that a lot of anthropologists desperately  
need (technically, CSL supports this, but Zotero doesn’t).

Bruce

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**Author:** ![Bruce\_D\_Arcus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Bruce\_D\_Arcus1](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/u/Bruce_D_Arcus1)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/test-disambiguation/564/9 "2009-03-16T13:59:48Z")

</div>

> Okay, here’s one to try on for size. For the input format for testing  
> of names handling:
> 
> “Doe, John”  
> “van Doe, James”  
> “Doe, Jacques, III”  
> “Takeda, Shingen !”  
> “Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology !!”
> 
> The names can be used as-is (maybe with locale tweaks) as units in a  
> set of sort keys. For display, the first element of every name is to  
> be listed in full in all renderings. A third element, where present,  
> is understood to be a suffix. A single exclamation point ending the  
> entry says “prefer to present in this order with no abbreviations,  
> using appropriate touchups (i.e. lose the comma) but if you insist on  
> Western formatting, I give up”.

But if we allow formatting of nameparts, that may be a problem?  
Also, what if the “van” above is dropped for sorting?

> Two exclamation points says, “forget  
> about all those commas, just use this string literally”.
> 
> This is just a format for internal testing. Implementations can of  
> course ship information in any shape they like, so long as the same  
> formatting hints can be extracted from it.

Well, let’s put aside the syntax stuff, and just say we have two kinds of names:

1. (display) names

2. structured personal names

#2 is the hard part, because the different sort-display rules. I just  
remembered this:

[http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg\_id=C812EDFE-1E0A-4933-84C9-A1C0094C051C%40highwire.stanford.edu](http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=C812EDFE-1E0A-4933-84C9-A1C0094C051C%40highwire.stanford.edu)

To quote:

"This discussion may be interested in @name-style in that DTD:

Value: Meaning  
eastern: The name will both be displayed and sorted/inverted with the  
family name preceding the given name.  
islensk: The name will both be displayed and sorted/inverted with the  
given name preceding the family name.  
western: The name will be displayed with the given name preceding the  
family name but will be sorted/inverted with the family name preceding  
the given name.  
Default value: western"

So a name-style value on the name may work, where we allow this to be  
overiden locally.

Bruce

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Frank\_Bennett](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/discourse.citationstyles.org/frank_bennett/32/198_2.png) [@Frank\_Bennett](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/u/Frank_Bennett)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/test-disambiguation/564/10 "2009-03-16T22:31:23Z")

</div>

> > Okay, here’s one to try on for size. For the input format for testing  
> > of names handling:
> > 
> > “Doe, John”  
> > “van Doe, James”  
> > “Doe, Jacques, III”  
> > “Takeda, Shingen !”  
> > “Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology !!”
> > 
> > The names can be used as-is (maybe with locale tweaks) as units in a  
> > set of sort keys. For display, the first element of every name is to  
> > be listed in full in all renderings. A third element, where present,  
> > is understood to be a suffix. A single exclamation point ending the  
> > entry says “prefer to present in this order with no abbreviations,  
> > using appropriate touchups (i.e. lose the comma) but if you insist on  
> > Western formatting, I give up”.
> 
> But if we allow formatting of nameparts, that may be a problem?  
> Also, what if the “van” above is dropped for sorting?
> 
> > Two exclamation points says, “forget  
> > about all those commas, just use this string literally”.
> > 
> > This is just a format for internal testing. Implementations can of  
> > course ship information in any shape they like, so long as the same  
> > formatting hints can be extracted from it.
> 
> Well, let’s put aside the syntax stuff, and just say we have two kinds of names:
> 
> 1. (display) names
> 
> 2. structured personal names
> 
> #2 is the hard part, because the different sort-display rules. I just  
> remembered this:
> 
> [http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg\_id=C812EDFE-1E0A-4933-84C9-A1C0094C051C%40highwire.stanford.edu](http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=C812EDFE-1E0A-4933-84C9-A1C0094C051C%40highwire.stanford.edu)
> 
> To quote:
> 
> "This discussion may be interested in @name-style in that DTD:
> 
> Value: Meaning  
> eastern: The name will both be displayed and sorted/inverted with the  
> family name preceding the given name.  
> islensk: The name will both be displayed and sorted/inverted with the  
> given name preceding the family name.  
> western: The name will be displayed with the given name preceding the  
> family name but will be sorted/inverted with the family name preceding  
> the given name.  
> Default value: western"
> 
> So a name-style value on the name may work, where we allow this to be  
> overiden locally.

Could do. What I have in place now for testing will work for all  
of these cases, so I’ll run with it for the moment. The syntax  
stuff is just an arbitrary markup for testing, to save typing.  
Initial top-level tests coming soon, I think.

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**Author:** ![Frank\_Bennett](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/discourse.citationstyles.org/frank_bennett/32/198_2.png) [@Frank\_Bennett](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/u/Frank_Bennett)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/test-disambiguation/564/11 "2009-03-16T22:45:53Z")

</div>

> Here’s another fun one, both for names, as well as other stuff.
> 
> [http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/jjrsMain.htm](http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/jjrsMain.htm)
> 
> Example:
> 
> De Bary, Wm. Theodore De Bary, et al, eds.,  
> 1969 The Buddhist Tradition in India, China, and Japan. New York:  
> The Modern  
> Library.  
> Ishii Shūdō 石井修道  
> 1987 Sōdai zenshūshi no kenkyū 宋代禅宗史の研究. Tokyo: Daitō Shuppansha.  
> 1988 Chūgoku zenshūshi wa: “Mana Shōbōgenzō” ni manabu 中国全集史話「漢  
> 字正法眼蔵」に学ぶ. Kyoto: Zen Bunka Kenkyūjō.
> 
> So Kanji AND transliterated roman names, as well as standard Western  
> names. Each are treated differently.

Small world – the Nanzan campus is 5 minutes’ walk from my office!

Our local version of Zotero is hacked (definitely the right word for it) to  
render kanji names correctly, just based on the presence of high-end  
unicode in the string. Dodgey, but seems to work. A better solution,  
and dual-lingo presentation like this, would need some sort of multi-lingual  
layering in the client, a la Linguaplone. Needed eventually, but don’t even  
want to think about that one at the moment. 🙂

If grouping only happens when the authors are exactly identical,  
that should be very doable, once the other (tsunami of) details  
has been sorted.

Frank