[MLZ] make citeproc-js ignore container-title-short when MLZ's own abbreviation filter is used?

wonblee

Can you make citeproc-js ignore container-title-short when MLZ's own abbreviation filter is in action?
Sometimes the data that I grab with Zotero translator include the publication's abbreviation, which may or may not be compatible with my target publication's abbreviation protocol.
I'd like these to be ignored in preference for the ones that I provide with the MLZ abbreviation filter.

wonblee

I got tripped up again by the Journal Abbreviation grabbed by the site translator.

I think one alternative to taking care of this at the citation processor level that I suggested above is for MLZ to subject all references to the abbreviation filter. Currently it looks like MLZ only passes references without hard-coded abbreviations through the abbreviation filter.

Another alternative is for MLZ to provide a utility that will remove all "journal abbreviation" fields in the database. Since the "journal abbreviation" field is giving me only headache, personally I will be more than happy to see them all gone.

bwiernik

I can't comment on the functionality of the Abbreviations plugin, but as a stop gap measure, you can easily delete all of the Journal Abbreviations you have hard coded by batching editing your database with Execute-JS.

Use the code found here: http://www.zotero.org/support/dev/client_coding/javascript_api

Set the fieldName to "journalAbbreviation".

Set oldValue to "%".

Set newValue to "".

In the line "s.addCondition", change 'is' to 'contains'.

wonblee

@bwiernik,
Thanks! Just what I needed.

fbennett

@wonblee: Sorry for being slow to respond on this. The day job ...

Journal abbreviations are meant to work as you describe. That is:

* If there is an entry in the Abbreviation Filter, apply it;
* If no AF entry exists, use the Journal Abbr value;
* If no AF entry exists and there is no Journal Abbr value, use the Journal Title.

It looks like I messed up when adapting it to recognize the CSL container-title-short value. It can be fixed easily, but it would impact Zotero proper (which doesn't yet have a means of editing the databased abbreviation list). I'd better put out a query before touching the code again.

@aurimasv, Dan or Simon:

In the Zotero journal abbreviation logic, should Journal Abbr override the database abbreviations, or vice-versa?

adamsmith

* If there is an entry in the Abbreviation Filter, apply it;
* If no AF entry exists, use the Journal Abbr value;
* If no AF entry exists and there is no Journal Abbr value, use the Journal Title.

though I feel quite excluded ;) — this is exactly how journal abbreviations work in Zotero as well

fbennett

@adamsmith: Sorry!

Hmm. It looks like I'm not understanding the code thoroughly, then. I'll try to do some testing today and write back.

fbennett

@wonblee,

I've run a quick test with MLZ and the Abbreviation Filter (v1.0.140), and it looks like abbreviations are applied as described above, with AF abbreviations at first priority.

If you have references that are not behaving that way (in the MLZ American Law Style or in your own style), could you post one as Bibliontology RDF to http://gist.github.com?

adamsmith

Frank - I think what wonblee was asking is to change the current behavior, i.e. when an Abbreviations Filter is active in general, do:


* If there is an entry in the Abbreviation Filter, apply it;
* If no AF entry exists, use the Journal Title

in other words, ignore the JournalAbbr field entirely. That's why bwiernik solution to clean it out via batch edit was so useful. Given the nature of the abbreviation file in Zotero, this is quite rare, so it doesn't matter much either way, but the current behavior still makes sense. You'll have to decide if that's also the case for the less comprehensive abbreviation filters shipped with law styles.

fbennett

We'll need clarification from wonblee, then. From this, I understood that he was seeing Journal Abbr override the AF version:

I'd like these to be ignored in preference for the ones that I provide with the MLZ abbreviation filter.

(The priority order AF-JournalAbbr-JournalTitle makes particular sense with the Abbreviation Filter [regardless of the size of the match list it ships with], because it gives the user control over the abbreviations applied to a given journal for the chosen style.)

wonblee

So there are two issues: (1) the priority between AF and JournalAbbr, and (2) whether JournalAbbr should take over when there is no AF.

As to (1), everybody seems to be on the same page. AF should overide JournalAbbr. If that's how MLZ is designed to work too, then all is well. (Suddenly I can't reproduce the problem. Maybe I'm the one who messed up the abbreviation file. If I succeed in consistently reproducing the problem, I'll post its Bibliontology RDF.)

As to (2), it's a judgment call, but I'd prefer JournalAbbr to be completely ignored rather than take the second priority, for one simple reason: when a journal title is abbreviated with JournalAbbr, you can't tell if it's the right abbreviation or not for the current style. If the journal title is not abbreviated at all, at least it serves as a cue that it needs to be abbreviated.

aurimas

Re (1), I don't recall if we fixed this in Zotero, but if AF determines that the Journal Title should not be abbreviated (e.g. Nature), then Journal Abbreviation would override AF. usually that's not an issue, but it may be.

Re (2), I think we expect Journal Abbreviation field to go away in the future and all abbreviations to be handled through AF.