How do I cite multiple works that shorten to the same form?
Answer
To distinguish between several sources with three or more authors that shorten to the same form, list as many authors as necessary to tell sources apart followed by a comma and "et al."
Since "et al." cannot be used for just one name (et al. means "and others), do not use "et al." if only one name is different. Instead, include all authors' names in the citation.
Example
These sources would be shortened to the same form: Williams et al. (2020). To tell each source apart from the others, more names are added to the citation:
Williams, Stephens, Smith, and Teller (2020) shortens to Williams, Stephens, et al. (2020).
Williams, Conner, Harry, and Vincent (2020) shortens to Williams, Conner, et al. (2020).
