Here’s a common practice that irritates me: ordering the references in a string of citations in a scientific study alphabetically…
… as has been well established in the literature (Akbar 2006; Foo 1965; Gnu 1998).
rather than numerically…
… as has been well established in the literature (Foo 1965; Gnu 1998; Akbar 2006).
Why the %@#*$~ does anybody do that?!?
Numeric ordering conveys information: the temporal order in which works were published. Alphabetical order conveys nothing. Or am I missing something. Please education me.
