Ok so I need to say Smith, Jones and Terry's (2001) paper, but in et al terms do I put

Smith et al's (2001) paper
Smith et als (2001) paper
Smith et al (2001) paper.

Not sure if the et al (and others) paper needs as S or not - very confused!

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Should it not be "Smith, Jones and Terrys' (2001) paper"? In which case it would be Smith et als' (2001) paper, but as 'al' is plural (others), I'd just stick with Smith et al (2001) paper, or better still reword it to avoid the apostrophe issue.

hmm, tricky. I don't really want to add all the names in. There doesn't seem to be an official guide on this - stupid APA referencing!

This addresses the same problem:
http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/99369-et-als-et-als.html

Yes, just reword it without the apostrophe to something like "In Smith et al (2001), ..."

Hi sneaks,

et al. is, like misspacey already mentioned, plural, and as such there is no need to put an "s" at the end of it.

There are several referencing systems and as such also variations regarding how many people one should quote as authors before you use et al.. In some (mainly medical) journals it is 6, in others 3, and like you suggested ( I think more in business papers?) sometimes only one.

I think it is best to look at other theses that have been done at your university and compare. I think it would also be a very reasonable question to ask your supervisor.

:-)

Just had another look at your question.

Could you not just say: Smith et al. (2001) show / indicate etc.

Or what about "in the Smith et al (2001) paper"?

I would probably put something like 'it has been suggested/noted/stated that..... (Smith et. al., 2001) but it does depend upon the exact rules of your referencing system as to the cut off point for putting all the names in.

You can always use the complete version which is "et alii". As was said before et al. or et alii is already the plural and it would be incorrect to add an 's.

i'm with starshine on this one, i'd go for 'the smith et al (2001) paper' and avoid the problem altogether!

Someone probably stated this but if presenting to a journal, check the journal and see how they do it.
Be aware though, that if using EndNote, make sure that it is also changed there (I think it is under options menu)

Hi Sneaks,

if you have examples of others using your proposed format, then why not use it.

Perhaps "The paper by Smith et al. (2001)" would be an alternative.

Good luck.