Chest multiple source sort

doctuppy
When I use the 'Chest' style and cite multiple sources, the citations are supposed to sorted by year (like AMA citation style). However, even with the "keep sources sorted" on it seems to just place the references in the order I selected them. Please edit this style so this is no longer a problem.
  • adamsmith
    where do you take that requirement from? It's not listed on the Chest guide for authors, nor can I find it in the AMA manual of style (and it's not implemented in our AMA style, either).
  • doctuppy
    I'm not sure where I read it. I'll try to find a source. However, right now there is haphazard sorting of references for multiple citations in this style. It seems like they should either be organized alphabetically or chronologically rather than in the order I enter them into the citation.

    Also, I've noticed that when I cite two articles at least one of which has been previously cited (e.g. citation 65,87) the lower numbered reference is not automatically placed first (e.g. citation reads 87,65). The software seems to generate order in this case based on which I enter into the citation dialog box.
  • adamsmith
    I don't really think the order of items in multiple citations matters for numerical styles and if anything should be in the order in which they are entered. I've looked at a _lot_ of guides for these and have never seen any other sorting required, nor has anyone ever requested. (I also don't believe it's possible in CSL)

    The second issue, though, is not right and the style should sort those correctly (i.e. 67, 85) already. Any chance you changed the "Keep sources sorted" option on that citation?
  • doctuppy
    I haven "keep sources sorted" option checked (just checked again) using the Chest style, but the sort order can either read "87,65" or "65,87" depending on which citation I put in first in the dialog box. Have you been able to replicate this error?

    I agree there is not much guidance in the AMA style guide; so, I asked my librarian friend to look into it. She reports that Endnote and RefWorks will sort alphabetically with an option to change order for relevance. Would it be possible to put in such an option?
  • adamsmith
    The 87,65 issue, I can't replicate. Can you in a fresh document?

    As for sorting numerical citations, no, I don't think we'll add an option for that unless there's an actual need for it, which I'm not seeing (it's available for author-date styles, where this is a common requirement). It would require non-insignificant changes in CSL.
    Out of curiosity, I checked recent publications in JAMA and Chest, and they do not appear to sort multiple cites in any particular order (see e.g. reference 3-8 here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012369215004407 )
    What RefWorks and Endnote isn't really relevant. What matters are what correct and required referencing requires.
  • doctuppy
    You're right. I'm not able to replicate this error in another document. Not sure why I got the error in the first place. I'll just change the order of these in the file I'm working on and move on.

    Thanks for your help!
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