Inconsistent "et al" in Zotero citations for works with 3+ authors

studemeyercc

Hello!

My Zotero standalone is inconsistently citing works with 3+ authors as either (FirstAuthor et al, Year) or (Author 1 Author 2 Author 3, Year).

I am using the Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition). I am fairly certain that works with 3+ authors are supposed to be cited as (First Author et al, Year) in the end notes.

Does anyone know how to fix the inconsistency so that Zotero cites all works with 3+ authors as "et al"?

Thank you!

adamsmith

Unlike many other styles, Chicago Manual starts et al with _more_ than three authors (i.e. 4+). See CMoS 15.28 for the rule and 15.24 for an example with three authors in text.
The style in Zotero follows that.

studemeyercc

You're absolutely correct. I mis-read the CMS 16th. Thank you for the clarification.