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Personal Names

The personal names of authors, editors, translators, data curators, photographers, and other individuals mentioned an article can be tagged using either the element <name> or the element <string-name>. Such tagged names may be found:
Both <name> and <string-name> can identify the surname (family name or last name) and given names (first names and middle names) of a person.
Processing Note: Because the <surname> and <given-names> elements will not necessarily be in the same sequence, depending on whether <name> or <string-name> has been used, JATS processors should consider name processing that focuses on the presence of <surname> or <given-names> and not their context (immediate parent).
Using Name (<name>)
In JATS, the <name> element is element-only content in a specific sequence (shown below), and <name> content may not contain spaces or punctuation. (More properly, any spaces in XML element content of <name> are, by definition, meaningless, and XML processing may delete/disregard them). Any punctuation between elements in a <name> is an XML error, and any punctuation within the element components in a <name> is a semantic error.
The required order of elements within a personal name (the content of a <name> element) is:
  • First, one of the following:
  • Next (optionally), a <prefix> such as a formal title (“Senator”)
  • Next (optionally), a <suffix> such as a lineage distinguisher (“Jr.”, “Sr.”, etc.)
as illustrated here:
<name>
  <surname>Jones-Smythe</surname>
  <given-names>Johnathan Irving Browning</given-names>
  <prefix>The Honorable</prefix>
  <suffix>III</suffix>
</name>
Using String Name (<string-name>)
The <string-name> element is a mixed-content container for personal names in display sequence, which contains all the spacing and punctuation expected in the display. A <string-name> is a very loose element, which may contain text, numbers, and special characters as well as any or all of the naming elements, such as <surname>, <given-names>, <prefix>, etc. A <string-name> can be used to hold the name elements with punctuation and spacing between them, for example, a sort version of the name, the full name in display order (for example, a byline with recombined components), a name where family name versus given name cannot be determined, a patronymic name, a matronymic name, etc.
The most common use of the <string-name> element is to provide the desired display sequence and punctuation for a name. In the example below, notice that the <string-name> element contains a “comma-space” in addition to the <surname> and <given-names> elements: 
<string-name>
  <surname>Lincoln</surname>, <given-names>Abraham</given-names>
</string-name>
The <string-name> element may also be only partially tagged internally, identifying only a few of the name components or no name components at all: 
<string-name>The Honorable Johnathan Irving 
  Browning <surname>Jones-Smythe</surname>, III
</string-name>
Spaces and Punctuation in Names
Names: When the <name> element is used, punctuation and spacing for display must be generated during output processing.
The model for <name> does not allow any spaces or punctuation between the surname, given names, prefix, and suffix components. Even if one or more spaces exist in this context in the XML source file, XML processors will remove any space that occurs between these elements. In other words, in the following XML examples, the XML software will act as if there were no space between the surname, the given names, and the suffix. The <name> element cannot preserve these spaces. 
<name>
  <surname>Petitti</surname>  <given-names>DB</given-names> <suffix>III</suffix>
</name>

<name>
  <surname>Petitti</surname>  
  <given-names>DB</given-names> 
  <suffix>III</suffix>
</name>

<name>  <surname>Petitti</surname> <given-names>DB</given-names>   </name>
String Names: When the <string-name> element is used, punctuation and spacing for display are typically built into the content of the <string-name>.
In contrast to <name>, the element <string-name> allows, but does not require, spacing and punctuation within the name: 
<string-name>
  <surname>Jefferson</surname>,   <given-names>T</given-names>.
</string-name>

<string-name>
  <surname>Jefferson</surname><given-names>T</given-names>.
</string-name>
Multipart Names
Many names have multiple parts, and care should be taken with multipart names to divide the components into family names (<surname>) and personal names (<given-names>) in a culturally appropriate fashion. The Tag Suite cannot give guidance on how to divide names, but it enables most cultural variations. For example: 
<surname>Llanos De La Torre Quiralte</surname>
<given-names>M</given-names>    

<surname>Sánchez Mendoza</surname>   
<given-names>Josquin</given-names>    

<surname>Las Heras</surname>   
<given-names>Juan Fernando</given-names>    

<surname>Lapeyre</surname>   
<given-names>Kenneth Pritchard Carnu</given-names> 

<surname>Ben Gurion</surname>   
<given-names>David</given-names>    

<surname>de la Mare</surname>   
<given-names>Walter John</given-names>

<surname>Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa, de</surname>   
<given-names>Henri Marie Raymond</given-names>

<name name-style="eastern">
<surname>Zhou</surname>   
<given-names>Xun-Ze</given-names>
</name>    
 
<name name-style="eastern">
<surname>Chou</surname>   
<given-names>Hsun-Tse</given-names>
</name>    
 
<name name-style="eastern">
<surname>Si-Ma</surname>   
<given-names>Mary-Sue</given-names>
</name>    
 
<name name-style="eastern">
<surname>SI-MA</surname>   
<given-names>Mary-Sue</given-names>
</name>    
 
<name>
<given-names>Cai-Rang</given-names>
</name>
If a name does not divide cleanly into the concepts of <surname> and <given-names>, the element <string-name> may be used to record the name as an undivided sting.
Multiple Versions of a Name
Anywhere a person’s name can be used, for example, inside article metadata (element <contrib>), inside related elements (elements <related-article> and <related-object>), and inside bibliographic citations (elements <element-citation> and <mixed-citation>), JATS allows the possibility of providing more than one version of that name, using the <name-alternatives> element. Personal names are one of the few places in JATS where the multi-lingual attributes are not used to provide alternate languages; all variants of a person’s name (differing by languages, degrees of formality, purpose in the article, etc.) should be inside the <name-alternatives> element.
The <name-alternatives> element is intended to group multiple versions of a single name, without appearing to multiply the number of names. (Three versions of one contributor’s name is not the same as three different contributors.) The element <name-alternatives> works similarly to the <alternatives> construction for objects such as graphics, allowing multiple name variations to be linked together as processing alternatives for a single name. It will be up to an application how multiple versions of a single name are to be processed and displayed.
The @specific-use, @content-type, and @xml:lang attributes can be used to distinguish the cases for separate processing. For example, the following names are distinguished by language: 
...
<contrib contrib-type="author">
 <name-alternatives>
  <name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="ja-Jpan">
   <surname>中西</surname>
   <given-names>秀彦</given-names>
  </name>
  <name name-style="western" xml:lang="en">
   <surname>Nakanishi</surname>
   <given-names>Hidehiko</given-names>
  </name>
  <name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="ja-Kana">
   <surname>ナカニシ</surname>
   <given-names>ヒデヒコ</given-names>
  </name>
 </name-alternatives>
 <aff-alternatives id="aff2">
  <aff>
   <institution xml:lang="ja-Jpan">国立言語学博物館</institution>
  </aff>
  <aff>
   <institution xml:lang="en">National Museum of 
    Linguistics</institution>
  </aff>
 </aff-alternatives>
</contrib>
...
Using <name-alternatives>
The <name-alternatives> element can be used to record:
  • A name in multiple languages (For example, a name in Korean or Chinese-Han characters and a transliterated version of the same name in the Latin alphabet);
  • A name in multiple language/script combinations (For example, a name in Japanese [@xml:lang="ja-Jpan" for Han + Hiragana + Katakana] and the same name written in Kanji [@xml:lang="ja-Hani"]);
  • An alternate name for sorting or searching (For example, a name in French with accented letters (such as an “é”) and a plain-letter lower-ASCII version of the same name with “é” replaced by “e” for sorting. The @specific-use attribute can be used to indicate that the ASCII version is only for “sort”, rather than for display.);
  • An alternate name for indexing (For example, a publisher may choose to record several name variants for an individual, such as a nickname, author-pseudonym, maiden name, religious name, or tribal name. The attribute @specific-use could be used to record the rationale for the name variant, such as “primary”, “index”, or “table-of-contents”. Alternatively, or in addition, the attribute @content-type could be used to record the type of name variant, such as “nickname”, “maiden-name”, “pseudonym”, etc.);
  • A version of the name in a different arrangement (For example, since the order of the <surname> and <given-names> is fixed in JATS, a publisher might also wish to record a byline-style version of the name in given-surname order and could use a <string-name> with @content-type="byline" to accompany the name inside a <name-alternatives> element.); or
  • Both validated and known-to-be-incorrect names (For example, in the PubMed DTD, there is an attribute called “ValidYN” [valid yes or no], that can be used to record the fact that one version of a name was received, found to be in error, and then corrected. An application might be set up to display only the corrected version, while both name variants might be retained for searching or quality control. In JATS, this information can be recorded as two <name> elements inside a <name-alternatives> wrapper, with the @content-type attribute used to tell the correct from the incorrect.).
Not Multiplying ID Attributes
The names inside a <name-alternatives> do not generally take a unique identifier because they are all the same name. This Tag Set assumes that any necessary unique identifier will be placed on the enclosing element (such as the <contrib> element or the <principal-investigator> element) that contains the <name-alternatives> wrapper.
String Name with Alternatives
Both <name> and <string-name> are allowed inside <name-alternatives>. Within a <name-alternatives> grouping, the element <string-name> can be used, for example, to hold an undifferentiated transliteration (that is, one not tagged with specific name elements such as <surname>) or a search-specific name. 
<name-alternatives>
  <string-name specific-use="display">José del Pozo García</string-name>
  <name specific-use="primary" name-style="western">
    <surname>del Pozo García</surname>
    <given-names>José</given-names>
  </name>
  <string-name specific-use="abbrev-form">Pozo Garcia J del</string-name>
</name-alternatives>

<name-alternatives>
  <string-name specific-use="display">PM Sudha</string-name>
  <name specific-use="primary">
    <given-names initials="PM">Sudha</given-names>
  </name>
  <string-name specific-use="abbrev-form">Sudha PM</string-name>
</name-alternatives>

<name-alternatives>
  <name content-type="formal-name" xml:lang="fr">
    <surname>Giscard d'Estaing</surname>   
    <given-names>Valéry Marie René Georges</given-names>
  </name>
  <name content-type="common-name" xml:lang="fr">
    <surname>Giscard d'Estaing</surname>
    <given-names>Valéry</given-names>
  </name>
  <string-name specific-use="abbrev-form">Giscard d'Estaing V</string-name>
</name-alternatives>
Name Display Order
The problem of eastern versus western display of names (for example, Toshiro Mifune versus Mifune Toshiro) can be addressed using the @name-style attribute. The @name-style attribute can record the preferred display order for the name, typically to make the distinction between eastern and western display order. Name ordering information can be used for choosing an inversion algorithm for sorting, for ordering the names for display, or for other processing functions.
The values of the @name-style attribute and their approximate meanings are given below.
JATS Flexibility in Tagging Names
On the whole, this Tag Set can encode many, perhaps most, of the name variations found in the world. Both given names and surnames can be multiple words; there is no need to separate given names into first and middle names. Articles can be kept at the front of a name, or relegated to the rear following a comma. The element <string-name> is available for those who choose not to name a surname or given name, to use name components in a different sequence than <name> allows, or for the cases where this distinction does not exist or cannot be determined.
There are, however, some areas where this Tag Set cannot provide complete advice, and each Tag Set user must make business-related rules. These include:
  • How to recognize/differentiate surnames from given names;
  • How to handle single names (It is usually Best practice to tag most westernized single names (“Pele”, “Cher”, and “Ice Cube”) as <surname> elements. Tibetan, Burmese, and some Indian single names are not surnames and should typically be tagged as <given-names>.);
  • How to treat the article portions of both surnames and given names (such as “de”, “Del”, “Las”, “de la”, etc.) (For example, whether “Rudolpho Del Pozo Garcia” (who may also be known as “Rudolpho del Pozo García”) sorts as an initial “P” or as an initial “D” is a business, not a Tag Set, decision.); and
  • How to handle patronymic, matronymic, and tribal names.
The finer points of personal names are probably best determined by native speakers of the language involved.
Names and String Names in Citations
The names of authors, editors, translators, and other contributors can also be tagged within <element-citation> and <mixed-citation> using <name>, <string-name>, or <person-group>. The elements <name> and <string-name> identify the surname (family name or last name) and given names (first names and middle names) of the person. The element <person-group> is a container for <name> elements, <name-alternatives> elements, and <string-name> elements.
Here is a typical citation tagged using <name>, tagged as an element citation: 
<element-citation publication-type="journal" publication-format="print">
  <name>
   <surname>Leifer</surname><given-names>BP</given-names>
  </name>
  <article-title>Early diagnosis of Alzheimer&rsquor;s disease: clinical 
   and economic benefits</article-title>
  <source>J Am Geriatr Soc</source>
  <year iso-8601-date="2003-05">2003</year>
  <month>May</month>
  <volume>51</volume>
  <issue>5 Suppl</issue>
  <issue-title>Dementia</issue-title>
  <fpage>S281</fpage>
  <lpage>S288</lpage>
</element-citation>
and here is the same citation tagged as a mixed citation:
<mixed-citation publication-type="journal" publication-format="print">
  <string-name><surname>Leifer</surname>, <given-names>BP</given-names>
  </string-name>. <article-title>Early diagnosis of Alzheimer&rsquor;s  
  disease: clinical and economic benefits</article-title>. 
  <source>J Am Geriatr Soc</source>. 
  <year iso-8601-date="2003">2003</year> <month>May</month>;
  <volume>51</volume>(<issue>5 Suppl</issue>  
  <issue-title>Dementia</issue-title>):<fpage>S281
  </fpage>-<lpage>S288</lpage>.
</mixed-citation>
Spacing in Citation Names
Note that even when the <name> element is inside a <mixed-citation>, that <name> element cannot be used to preserve the space inside <name>. In the tagged examples below, there will be no space between the surname and given names in the XML, no matter which type of citation contains the <name>: 
<element-citation publication-type="journal">
 <name>
  <surname>Petitti</surname>  <given-names>DB</given-names>
 </name>
</element-citation>

<mixed-citation publication-type="journal">
 <name>
  <surname>Petitti</surname>  <given-names>DB</given-names>
 </name>
</mixed-citation>
This means that any spacing or punctuation inside <name> must be generated on display.
Within both types of citations, the elements <string-name> and <person-group> can be used to preserve punctuation. These elements are typically used in mixed citations to preserve the punctuation and spacing.
String Name: A <string-name> can preserve the punctuation that separates the surname from the initials or the given names, so <string-name> elements are frequently used inside <mixed-citation>s: 
<mixed-citation publication-type="journal">
 <string-name>
  <surname>Washington</surname>, <given-names>George</given-names>
 </string-name>. ...
</mixed-citation>
The element <string-name> can be used to hold name alternatives or unusual names that are not easily broken into <surname> and <given-names> components. For example: 
<element-citation publication-type="journal">
 <string-name>His Royal Highness The Prince Charles, 
  Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester</string-name> ...
</element-citation>
The element <string-name> can also be used to preserve the order of publication for a name. All of the following are legal string names: 
<string-name>
  <surname>Smith</surname>, <given-names>JH</given-names>
</string-name>

<string-name>
  <given-names>JH</given-names> <surname>Smith</surname>
</string-name>

<string-name>J.H.  <surname>Smith</surname></string-name>
The first example above would not be a valid <name> because of the comma and space between <surname> and <given-names>. The second and third examples are not valid <name>s because of name component order. The <name> element specifies an order for the name component elements to help users regularize this data.
Person Groups
The <name> elements within citations may be grouped using the <person-group> element, which is a slightly hybrid element. A <person-group> is similar to the element <contrib-group> in the article metadata in that it can contain a series of names of contributors, in this case cited contributors. But <person-group> is also similar to the element <contrib> in the article metadata in that it may directly contain naming elements such as <name>, <string-name>, <collab-name>, and <anonymous>, which are also inside <contrib>.
<person-group> takes an optional attribute @person-group-type that identifies the type of contributor (author, editor, illustrator) tagged within the group. The <role> element can also be used inside <person-group> to name the type of contribution of the individuals.
Here is an editor tagged using <person-group> inside <element-citation>: 
<element-citation publication-type="journal" publication-format="print">
 <source>Folia Primatologica: International Journal of Primatology</source>
 <person-group person-group-type="editor">
  <name><surname>Crompton</surname><given-names>R.H.</given-names></name>
 </person-group>
 <publisher-loc>Basel (Switzerland)</publisher-loc>
 <publisher-name>S. Karger AG</publisher-name>
 <volume>1</volume>
 <year iso-8601-date="1863">1863</year>
 <comment> -suspect date, may be 1864</comment>
</element-citation>
And that same person group in a mixed citation:
<mixed-citation publication-type="journal" publication-format="print">
 <source>Folia Primatologica: International Journal of Primatology</source>. 
 <person-group person-group-type="editor">
 <name><surname>Crompton</surname><given-names>R.H.</given-names>
 </name></person-group>, editor. <publisher-loc>Basel (Switzerland)</publisher-loc>: 
 <publisher-name>S. Karger AG</publisher-name>. Vol. <volume>1</volume> 
 <year iso-8601-date="1863">1863</year> -suspect date, may be 1864.</mixed-citation>
Notice that, in the mixed-style example just given, the information that a person is an editor may be there twice, once as loose textual material with a comma and space, and once as a searchable attribute on the <person-group> element.
Within both citation types, but more typically used within mixed citations, a <person-group> allows preservation of the punctuation between names or the punctuation between a name and its affiliation, such as the square brackets below: 
<mixed-citation publisher-type="gov">
 <person-group person-group-type="author">
 <name><surname>Norman</surname>
 <given-names>John C</given-names>
 </name> [<aff>Texas Heart Institute, Houston, TX</aff>]
 </person-group>
</mixed-citation>
The <person-group> element can also be used to tag a person’s name and affiliation or to collect a group of contributors, all of whom have a single affiliation. In the example below, two individuals share an affiliation, tagged in an element-style citation: 
<element-citation publication-type="commun">
  <person-group>
    <name>
      <surname>Hennen</surname><given-names>John</given-names>
    </name>
    <name>
      <surname>McDougall</surname><given-names>Jenni</given-names>
    </name>
    <aff>Edinburgh, Scotland</aff>
  </person-group>
  <source>Letter to: Dr. Duncan</source>
  <year>[date unknown]</year>
  <size units="pages">9 p</size>
  <comment>Located at: History of Medicine Division, National 
   Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD; W6 P3 v.1575. Observations 
   on the cure of syphilis without mercury.</comment>
</element-citation>
Another possible use of the <person-group> is to hold the element <etal>, to designate unnamed individuals (typically indicated in print with the text “et al.”). Unlike many journal Tag Sets, this Tag Set allows <etal> to contain text, so the user may choose between generating text based on the element or including the text inside the element.
APA-Ellipses-Style for Multiple Authors
The 6th edition of the APA Style Guide eliminates long lists of authors when citing a work with more than 7 or 8 authors. (Many genomics articles have hundreds of authors.) When there are more than 7 authors, the APA-style citation lists the first 6 authors, then an ellipsis or the words “et al.”, followed by the last author. Here is an example of such a citation, that has a large number of authors, as it would be shown in APA-style for display or print: 
Dodge, K. A., Berlin, L. J., Epstein, M., Spitz Roth, A., O'Donnell, K., 
Kauffman, M., . . ., & Christopoulos, C. (2003). The Durham 
Family Initiative: A preventive system of care. Child Welfare, 
83(2), 109-128
Here is the example above tagged as a <element-citation>, using the element <etal> as a placeholder, from which the ellipses could be generated: 
<ref id="r1">
 <element-citation publication-type="journal">
  <person-group person-group-type="author">
   <name><surname>Dodge</surname>
    <given-names>K. A.</given-names></name>
   <name><surname>Berlin</surname>
    <given-names>L. J.</given-names></name>
   <name><surname>Epstein</surname>
    <given-names>M.</given-names></name>
   <name><surname>Spitz Roth</surname>
    <given-names>A.</given-names></name>
   <name><surname>O’Donnell</surname>
    <given-names>K.</given-names></name>
   <name><surname>Kauffman</surname>
    <given-names>M.</given-names></name>
   <etal/>
   <name><surname>Christopoulos</surname>
    <given-names>C.</given-names></name>
  </person-group>
  <year iso-8601-date="2003">2003</year>
  <article-title>The Durham Family Initiative: A
   preventive system of care</article-title>
  <source>Child Welfare</source>
  <volume>83</volume><issue>2</issue>
  <fpage>109</fpage><lpage>128</lpage>
 </element-citation>
</ref>
Here is the example above tagged as a <mixed-citation>, using the element <etal> to hold the entity reference for the ellipsis, the comma-space following each author (including et al.), and the ampersand before the name of the final author: 
<ref id="r1">
 <mixed-citation publication-type="journal">
  <person-group person-group-type="author">
  <name><surname>Dodge</surname>
  <given-names>K. A.</given-names></name>,
  <name><surname>Berlin</surname>
  <given-names>L. J.</given-names></name>,
  <name><surname>Epstein</surname>
  <given-names>M.</given-names></name>,
  <name><surname>Spitz Roth</surname>
  <given-names>A.</given-names></name>,
  <name><surname>O’Donnell</surname>
  <given-names>K.</given-names></name>,
  <name><surname>Kauffman</surname>
  <given-names>M.</given-names></name>,
  <etal>&hellip;</etal>, &amp; <name>
  <surname>Christopoulos</surname>
  <given-names>C.</given-names></name>
  </person-group> (<year iso-8601-date="2003">2003</year>).
  <article-title>The Durham Family Initiative: A preventive
  system of care</article-title>. <source>Child Welfare</source>,
  <volume>83</volume>(<issue>2</issue>),
  <fpage>109</fpage>–<lpage>128</lpage>.
 </mixed-citation>
</ref>
Since this Tag Set allows <etal> to contain text, the user may choose between generated or contained text. Both of the samples above could alternately have included <etal>et al.</etal> or <etal>…</etal> instead of the empty <etal> element.
Some publishers choose to use <citation-alternatives> element to hold two citations, one with APA-ellipses-style for display and one with all of the (possibly hundreds) of contributors tagged explicitly. This second version of the citation may be used to provide full publication tracking, citation analysis, and to make all contributor names properly credited and searchable.