I'm trying to do an in text citation citing an indirect source. The PurdueOwl page says to name the original source in your signal phrase and include the secondary source in the parentheses.
For example
Johnson argued that...(as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 102).

However, I'm the thing citing indirectly has multiple authors (March, Frances, et al., 1997) so would I just put "according to March, Frances, et al." or is putting the "et al." incorrect??

Question

I'm trying to do an in text citation citing an indirect source. The PurdueOwl page says to name the original source in your signal phrase and include the secondary source in the parentheses.
For example
Johnson argued that...(as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 102).

However, I'm the thing citing indirectly has multiple authors (March, Frances, et al., 1997) so would I just put "according to March, Frances, et al." or is putting the "et al." incorrect??

anonymous · Answer

Have you tried using http://www.citationmachine.net/ ?

anonymous · Answer

Yes, including the "et al." is appropriate, especially if that is how it appears in the secondary source you are using. Here is an example:

While the study presents startling information, Paumgartten et al. claimed, “data from the 
general population of Rio de Janeiro may not reflect the situation of the country as a whole” (as cited in Douglass, 2010, p. 296).