Abstract
D.Litt. et Phil.
The need for an authority list for South African names has been expressed on various
occasions. The general aim with this study was to determine the reasons for this need and
propose an effective solution to the problem. At the hand of a comprehensive literature
study an overview was given of what authority control is, why name authority control is
necessary and the problems experienced during name authority control. This literature
study was done for two reasons, namely to:
Use the information obtained in this way, as a basis to analyse the South African
situation in regard to the standardisation of South African names.
To clear up the existing, ignorance in South Africa about the nature, aim and necessity
for standardisation of names. In the light of the poor quality of records imported by
participating libraries into the South African cooperative databases, it was concluded
that the participating libraries are not really aware of the impact the standard of their
work has on resource sharing and shared cataloguing. By providing this background
information an attempt is made to make libraries and information services aware of
the importance of. the standardisation of names on national and international levels. With the basic information on name authority control as starting point, the South African
situation was investigated with regard to standardisation of South African names.
Important roleplayers were interviewed in order to determine how they go about
standardising South African names and to identify the problems experienced with the
standardisation of names.
In order to get a better understanding of the problems the roleplayers experience, a sample
of names was taken from the name authority file of the South African National
Bibliography (SANB). The sample of names was identified by random sampling. The
minimum size of the sample was determined by using, s statistical formula. The sample of
names was analysed regarding_ variations in names, the same name for different people as
well as changes in corporate names. A critical analysis of the South African situation regarding the standardisation of South
African names was done, using all the information gathered. In order to find a solution to
all the problems experienced, two models were proposed, namely a traditional model and a
model consisting of an alphanumeric code. The two models were compared to each other
in order to determine which one of the two models would be the most effective for the
standardisation of South African names. In the presentation of the one model a
programme was developed in order to practically demonstrate the model and to test its
viability. During the comparison of the two models the ordinal and interval scales of _
measurement were used. At the hand of the results of the measurements, the most effective
model for the standardisation of South African names was proposed. Thus, an answer was
provided to the original problem statement namely: How can a standardised list of South
African names be compiled cost-effectively in order to make names available timeously for
use by libraries and information services nationally and internationally?