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When citing multiple articles by the same author, how should it be handled?

October 30, 2025
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When citing multiple articles by the same author in a reference list, entries are generally organized alphabetically by the title of the work after listing all single-author publications chronologically, with entries from the same year disambiguated using lowercase letters appended to the year (e.g., 2020a, 2020b). This ensures clear differentiation for the reader. The key principles involve consistent ordering and unambiguous identifiers. List all single-authored works before co-authored ones, ordering them chronologically (earliest first). For works published in the same year, assign suffixes like 'a', 'b', etc., based on the alphabetical order of the article titles (ignoring initial articles like "A" or "The"). Subsequent citations in the text use the author's name and the specific year-suffix combination (e.g., Smith, 2020a). Implement this practice consistently throughout the reference list using the specific formatting rules (e.g., APA, Chicago) mandated by your target publication or institution. Correct implementation prevents confusion among an author's works, enhances the clarity and professionalism of the reference list, and allows readers to effortlessly locate the exact source cited within the text, thereby upholding academic integrity and facilitating rigorous scholarship. The suffixes maintain specificity.
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