Q. In author-date references, for an in-text citation that includes two or more sources—e.g., (Doe 2008; Smith 2013)—would the authors’ names be alphabetized, or is it dependent on the order of references used in the work that the citation correlates to? Thank you!
A. Normally, you can follow either the order in which the material appears in the text or, if the citations all refer to the same material, the relative importance of the sources cited. Where neither of those criteria applies, prefer either alphabetical or chronological order (be consistent). See CMOS 15.30 for some additional considerations.