ShaneLogic/citation-format-parsing

Citation Format Parsing

When to Use

Use this skill when you need to:

• Parse a reference string and identify its source type
• Extract structured metadata from academic citations
• Build or clean bibliographic databases
• Convert citation text to machine-readable format

Prerequisites

• Published material with bibliographic details available
• Citation string in standard academic format

Parsing Procedure

Step 1: Identify the Author Block

Locate the author names at the beginning of the citation:

• Format varies: initials + surname (e.g., "S.M. Sze") or surname + initials
• Multiple authors indicated by "et al." (e.g., "M. Sugiyama et al.")

Step 2: Identify the Title

Extract the title text following the author block:

• Often italicized or in plain text
• Example: "Physics of Semiconductor Devices"

Step 3: Determine Source Type

Apply decision tree based on delimiters:

IF format is (Publisher, City, Year):

• Source type: BOOK
• Parse Publisher, City, and Year from parentheses
• Example: "(Wiley, New York, 1981)"

IF format is JournalName Volume, Pages (Year):

• Source type: JOURNAL ARTICLE
• Parse Journal name (often abbreviated), Volume, Pages, and Year
• Example: "Phys. Rev. 106, 882 (1957)"
• Note: Volume numbers may be bolded in physics journals

IF format contains in [Title], ed. by [Editor]:

• Source type: BOOK CHAPTER or CONFERENCE PAPER
• Parse containing work title and editor information
• Example: "in Semiconductor Interfaces..., ed. by G. LeLay..."

Step 4: Handle Special Notations

• "et al.": Indicates multiple authors
• Bold volume numbers: Common in physics journal citations
• Abbreviated journal names: Standard in scientific citations

Output Structure

Return a structured metadata object containing:

• authors: List of author names (String)
• title: Title of the work (String)
• source_details: Object with Publisher/Journal, Volume, Pages, Year

Constraints

• Format varies slightly between books and journals
• Some citations may have non-standard formatting requiring manual interpretation