import json


def _parse_tag_field(row):
    """Reading in a tag field and converting to a list of strings."""
    if isinstance(row, (list, tuple)):
        return row

    if not isinstance(row, str):
        row = str(row)

    if row.startswith('[') and row.endswith(']'):
        return json.loads(row)

    if row == '-':
        return []

    if ',' in row:
        return row.split(',')

    return [row]