A wise and very experienced prof said to a friend at the end of their first year 'so I'm guessing you're at the top of a mountain and realise now it's the wrong mountain, the right summit being a distance away and considerably higher. Still, at least you now know the right mountain to climb'.

Your experience is not unusual. In the final throws of my PhD (part time 5 years), my first year (which was full time - I had to switch due to family commitments) in a way was a total waste of time. Yet a) I had learnt to climb and b) I had seen the correct summit. The realisation was exhausting and I find myself sometimes thinking oh if only I hadn't wasted that first year. But it wasn't wasted. I had to do it to get to where I am today. And the 2nd mountain climb was certainly quicker though definitely higher. Does that make sense?

Thanks, yes that answers it perfectly. Thanks. Unfortunately Endnotes does it the other way and I cannot find a way to force it :-( Am thinking the only solution is to see if I can alter the order of my text.

If I have 2 references (Harvard) with identical authors and name, should they be in the order they are cited, or in alphabetical order of title?

e.g. is it:

In his work with leopards (Jones 2004b) he refers to his work with aardvarks (Jones 2004a)

Jones (2004a) Aardvark never hurt nobody
Jones (2004b) Leopards spotted in Tesco

OR

In his work with leopards (Jones 2004a) he refers to his work with aardvarks (Jones 2004b)

Jones (2004a) Leopards spotted in Tesco
Jones (2004b) Aardvark never hurt nobody

no, I've only cited each once

I have two refs by same authors but endnote puts them in alphabetical order inc. title of paper which is the reverse order of how they appear in the text. So at the mo. they are 2004b then 2004a. My supervisors bless their cotton socks say they must be 2004a 200b in text. Here's a silly example to show you what I mean:

In his work with leopards (Jones 2004b) he refers to his work with aardvarks (Jones 2004a)

Jones (2004a) Aardvark never hurt nobody
Jones (2004b) Leopards spotted in Tesco