Remarks

This is a very loose element, which may contain text, numbers, special characters, generated text, and any or all of the naming elements, such as <surname>.

Best Practice: Although the schemas do not enforce it, for typical western names (for which the surname and given names are both known) the <string-name> element should be used only within a <name-alternatives> wrapper, for use when a name is being provided in more than one language. A <string-name> element should not be used for the primary name whenever the name can be described in the ordinary way.

Related Essay: For a discussion on the use of <string-name>, see Personal Names in Citations.

Usage: If the name parts are unknown or untagged, put the whole name within the <string-name> element, for example, <string-name>Ice Cube</string-name>. Use of the <string-name> element is more likely to lead to better searching in a repository than merely leaving the person’s name untagged.

Since the <string-name> model permits the tagging of name parts within it, a name like “Prince Charles” could be tagged as a given name “Charles” (<given-names>) and prefix “Prince” (<prefix>), but such tagging is likely to be rare and <string-name>Prince Charles</string-name> is also valid tagging.

Examples of when name parts might be usefully tagged inside <string-name> include:

• A scenario in which “string names” are tagged as part of a preliminary process, and subsequent processes include tagging the specific name parts; or
• An instance in which reverse order of a name, with the separating comma-space, is to be preserved as a single sting, but name parts still need to be tagged for enhanced search capability, i.e., “Abernathy, the Honorable Sir Edward” might be tagged as:

  <string-name><surname>Abernathy</surname>, the Honorable Sir Edward</string-name>

  
  and “Smith, Jane” might be tagged as:

  <string-name><surname>Smith</surname>, <given-names>Jane</given-names></string-name>

<!ELEMENT  string-name  (#PCDATA %string-name-elements;)*            >

               
...
<ref id="B6">
<label>6</label>
<mixed-citation>
<string-name><surname>DerSimonian</surname>,
<given-names>R</given-names></string-name>,
<string-name><surname>Laird</surname>,
<given-names>N</given-names>
</string-name>.
<article-title>Meta-analysis in clinical trials
</article-title>.
<source>Controlled Clin Trials</source>:
<volume>7</volume>; <year>1986</year>;
<fpage>177</fpage>-<lpage>188</lpage> [
<pub-id pub-id-type="pmid">3802833</pub-id>].
</mixed-citation>
</ref>
...