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How to Cite an Interview in APA

Interviews can be a extremely useful sources of information on almost any topic. Whether it be in the form of a video or an online article, this helpful guide will show you how to cite interviews for your APA-style research paper. All citations follow APA 7th edition.

Guide Overview

Here’s a run-through of everything this page includes:

Citing a personal interview

Citing a published interview, interview published as an online article, interview published as youtube video, interview from a research participant, radio interview recording in a digital archive, troubleshooting.

APA reference lists only include works that can be found by the reader. As a personal interview is not published or “findable,” it should not be included in an APA reference list. Instead, a personal interview should be referenced as a parenthetical citation.

Parenthetical citation example:

(J. Smith, personal communication, May 17, 2008).

Any personal interview conducted via the following methods (and that are unpublished) can be considered personal communication:

• in-person interview
• phone interview
• text messages
• online chats
• unrecorded lectures

If you would like to include a personal interview as part of your APA reference list, then include the interviewee, the date of the interview, and the type of interview.

Interview Citation Structure:

Last name, F. (Year, Month date). Personal communication [Communication type].

Interview Citation Example:

Cloyd, A. (2014, July 29). Personal communication [Personal interview].

MacInnes, P. (2021, August 24). Ellie Simmonds: ‘I’ve found the expectations harder as I’ve got older.’  The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/24/ellie-simmonds-expectations-tokyo-paralympics-interview

In-text citation, parenthetical example:

In-text citation, narrative example:

Reference list entry examples:

60 Minutes Australia. (2018, June 23). Meet the tallest man in the world [Video]. YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjG6qIfoMeI

O’Brien, C. [Team Coco]. (2021, June 11). Tig Notaro full interview – CONAN on TBS [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imMsszmCdr4 

Quotations from a research participant are from your original research; therefore, they are not included in the reference list or treated as personal communications. When citing a direct quotation from a participant’s interview, indicate in the text that the quotation is coming from a participant.

In-text example:

Participant “Steven” described his experience at the company as “difficult but rewarding.”

When referencing an interview that is housed in a digital or a physical archive, you must credit the interviewee as the author.

Krashen, S. (1983, May 4). The basics of writing [Interview]. USC Archive; University of Southern California. https://libraries.usc.edu/locations/special-collections-department/university-archives

Here’s a quick video overview of how to cite an interview in APA:

Solution #1: How to cite a text message or personal email in APA

Personal emails or text messages are considered forms of personal communication. Since they are unpublished and cannot be accessed by anyone else, they should not be included on the reference sheet. An in-text citation should be made indicating that it was obtained through personal communication, including the person’s name and the date that the communication happened.

(Email writer’s first initial and last name, personal communication, date message was received in Month Day, Year format)

(A. Washington, personal communication, December 10, 2021)

Solution #2: How to cite a professor’s lecture you attended in-person in APA

Unless the lecture has been recorded and published, notes and quotes collected from a lecture are considered forms of personal communication. Therefore, it does not need to be included on your reference sheet according to APA guidelines. An in-text citation should be made indicating that the information or quote was obtained through personal communication, the date it was retrieved, and the professor’s name.

In-text citation structure & example:

(Professor’s first initial and last name, personal communication, date of lecture in Month Day, Year format)

(P. Espinoza, personal communication, April 30, 2019)

If it is required to cite the lecture in the reference sheet, the entry needs to include the same information.

Reference list entry structure & example:

Professor’s last name, first initial. (Year, Month Day). Personal Communication. [Lecture]

Espinoza, P. (2019, April 30). Personal Communication. [Lecture]

If the lecture has been recorded and is available online, it must be included in the reference sheet and is no longer considered a form of personal communication.

Professor’s last name, first initial. (Year, Month Day). Lecture name. Source of publication. URL.

Espinoza, P. (2019, April 30). Mesopotamia. University of Chegg. https://example.website.here.

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Parenthetical Citations
• Reference Page
• Sample Paper
• APA 7 Updates
• View APA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all APA Examples

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To cite an online interview, you need to know what format the interview is in. Was it an online video? An online article? A podcast? Whatever the medium (video, article, podcast, etc.), create a citation as you would normally for that medium.  The author is usually the interviewer’s (or publishing company’s) name.

In-text citation template and examples:

When citing information from an interview, make it clear who the interviewee (the person being interviewed) was. If you are citing a quote, include the location of where the quote came from. That could be a page number (p. 22), paragraph number (para. 12), or timestamp (1:42).

Here is an example of a video interview on YouTube.

Author Surname or Organization (Publication Year)

Manufacturing Intellect (2020) published a video of Romney Wheeler interviewing Bertrand Russell.

Parenthetical:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

In one interview with Romeny Wheely, the philosopher Bertrand Russell said, “I wanted to know whether there is any truth in realities known, and I thought if there was any, it’s probably in mathematics” (Manufacturing Intellect, 2020, 8:58-9:05).

Reference list entry template and example:

Author Name. (Date published). Title of the video [Format]. Video Site Name. URL

Manufacturing Intellect. (2020, July 10). A conversation with Bertrand Russell [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL_sMXfzzyA (Original work broadcast in 1952)

An interview is a talk or an exchange of information via electronic media. An interview can be published or unpublished, depending upon the type and nature of the interview. Interviews can be any of the following types:

Published interview

Personal interview

Interview of participants in a study

Interviews appearing in newspapers, magazines, television programs, YouTube videos, podcasts, and radio broadcasting will fall under this category. Here is a template and an example of how a published interview is cited in the text:

(Author Last Name, date of interview)

(Fuller, 2018)

If you get details through emails or phone calls to make the statement in your paper effective, you need to cite them as “personal communication,” since they cannot be published. A few examples of interviews that need to be treated as personal communications include:

• interview on the telephone
• text messages or emails

(Author Last Name, personal communication, date of interview)

(Sethusankar, personal communication, December 2, 2016)

If you interview your participants as a part of your study, APA style doesn’t require you to cite them. However, follow the APA guidelines on how to present the interview of participants.

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APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Interview

• General Style Guidelines
• One Author or Editor
• Two Authors or Editors
• Three to Five Authors or Editors
• Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
• Article in a Reference Book
• Edition other than the First
• Translation
• Government Publication
• Journal Article with 1 Author
• Journal Article with 2 Authors
• Journal Article with 3–20 Authors
• Journal Article 21 or more Authors
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Basic Web Page
• Web page from a University site
• Web Page with No Author
• Entry in a Reference Work
• Government Document
• Film and Television
• Youtube Video
• Audio Podcast
• Electronic Image
• Twitter/Instagram
• Lecture/PPT
• Conferences
• Secondary Sources
• Citation Support
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Formatting Your Paper

Helpful Tip!

NOTE: If you recorded the interview or Skype meeting and posted it online (i.e. YouTube, web site) you can then include the reference and direct the reader to the audio or video file that captured the interview. See: APA S tyle: Personal Communications  OR Quotations from Research Participants . 

An Interview

Important Note: Personal interviews are not included in the reference list because they do not provide recoverable data . Cite them IN TEXT ONLY.

Personal Communication Includes letters, phone calls, email messages, and interviews.

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Interviewee First Initial. Second Initial. Surname, personal communication, Month Day, Year)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

References:

Not included

(J. Brown, personal communication, April 27, 2010)

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APA Citations (7th ed.)

• General Formatting
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• Citing Multiple Works
• Personal Communications
• Classroom or Intranet Resources
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What is an Interview?

An interview is a dialogue or exchange of information between people.

There are three types of interviews as sources:

• Published interviews
• Personal interviews
• Research participant interviews

Published interviews  may appear in magazines, newspapers, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc.

Personal interviews  are those you conduct as a means of obtaining information to support a point in your paper. These types of interviews cannot be recovered.

Research participant interviews  are those you conducted as part of your methodology.

Citing Published Interviews

To cite a published interview, follow the format for the reference type (e.g., magazine article, podcast episode). 

In-text citation:

     (Shea & Ericson, 2021)

Citing Personal Interviews

Readers cannot recover personal interviews. Because of this, cite a personal interview as a personal communication.

     (A. Tolliver, personal communication, September 15, 2021)

Citing Research Participant Interviews

Research participant interviews do not require a citation in APA because you do not cite your own work in the paper in which it is first being reported.

Information gathered from participants can be presented and discussed in a paper according to these guidelines:

• Present a quotation of fewer than 40 words in quotation marks within the text
• Present a quotation of 40 words or more in block quotation
• State in the text that the quotations are from participants
• Abide by the ethical agreements regarding confidentiality and/or anonymity. Obtain consent from your participants to include their information in your report. You may need to assign participants a pseudonym, obscure identifying information, or present information in the aggregate.

See p. 278 of the manual for more information and examples.

• << Previous: Citing Multiple Works
• Next: Personal Communications >>
• Last Updated: Feb 1, 2024 2:08 PM
• URL: https://bvu.libguides.com/apa

Need help? Email [email protected] or chat with a BVU Librarian .

APA Citations (7th ed.)

• General Formatting
• Professional Paper Elements - Title Page
• Student Paper Elements - Title Page
• In-text Citation Basics
• In-text Citation Author Rules
• Citing Multiple Works
• Personal Communications
• Classroom or Intranet Resources
• Secondary Sources
• Periodicals
• Books and Reference Works
• Edited Book Chapters and Entries in Reference Works
• Reports and Gray Literature
• Conference Sessions and Presentations
• Dissertations and Theses
• Data Sets and Software
• Tests, Scales, & Inventories
• Audiovisual Works
• Audio Works
• Visual Works
• Social Media
• Webpages & Websites
• Basics & Formatting
• Avoiding Plagiarism

What is an Interview?

An interview is a dialogue or exchange of information between people.

There are three types of interviews as sources:

• Published interviews
• Personal interviews
• Research participant interviews

Published interviews may appear in magazines, newspapers, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc.

Personal interviews  are those you conduct as a means of obtaining information to support a point in your paper. These types of interviews cannot be recovered.

Research participant interviews  are those you conducted as part of your methodology.

See p. 259 of the manual for more information.

How to Cite Published Interviews

To cite a published interview, follow the format for the reference type (e.g., magazine article, podcast episode). 

In-text citation:

     (Roberts & Lee, 2017)

How to Cite Personal Interviews

Readers cannot recover personal interviews. Because of this, cite a personal interview as a personal communication.

     (J. Vargas, personal communication, November 20, 2012)

How to Cite Research Participant Interviews

Research participant interviews do not require a citation in APA because your do not cite your own work in the paper in which it is first being reported.

Information gathered from participants can be presented in discussed in a paper according to these guidelines:

• Present a quotation of fewer than 40 words in quotation marks within the text
• Present a quotation of 40 words or more in block quotation
• State in the text that the quotations are from participants
• Abide by the ethical agreements regarding confidentiality and/or anonymity. Obtain consent from your participants to include their information in your report. You may need to assign participants a pseudonym, obscure identifying information, or present information in the aggregate. See p. 278 of the manual for more information and examples.
• << Previous: Citing Multiple Works
• Next: Personal Communications >>
• Last Updated: Oct 26, 2022 10:46 AM
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APA Interview Citation

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How to Reference an Interview in APA

Use the following template to cite an interview using the APA citation format. We also provide style guides for the MLA and Chicago styles. To have your bibliography or works cited list automatically made for you, check out our free APA citation maker .

Once you’re finished with your citations, we can also help you with creating an APA title page .

Important Note on Personal Interviews:

• A personal interview should NOT be included in a reference list in APA. They are not considered recoverable data (they cannot be found by a researcher). You should reference personal interviews as in-text citations instead.
• Example: (J. Doe, personal communication, December 12, 2004)

That being said, there is a general structure if you want to cite a personal interview as part of your APA works cited list:

Author, A. (Year, Month Date). Interview type.

APA format example:

Marino, B. (2014, October 18). Personal Interview.

For more information on how to cite in APA, check out the APA Style Guide .

←Back to APA Citation Guide

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As per Sections 8.7 and 8.9 of the APA Publication Manual , 7 th edition, personal interviews are treated as personal communication. Since personal communication cannot be recovered by readers, APA recommends using personal communication only when a recoverable source of communication is not available.

And since personal communications cannot be recovered by readers, they are also not included in the reference list. Instead, the in-text citation for personal communication, including personal interviews, is much more detailed than other APA in-text citations.

When citing a personal interview in an in-text citation, include the first initial and surname of the person interviewed, “personal communication,” and the full date of the interview, rather than just the year.

The following templates and examples show how to cite a personal interview in an in-text citation in APA style.

Narrative citation: Interviewee’s First Initial Surname (personal communication, Month Day Year)

Parenthetical citation: (Interviewee’s First Initial Surname, personal communication, Month Day Year)

Narrative citation: A.J. Forrester (personal communication, May 9, 2014)

Parenthetical citation: (A.J. Forrester, personal communication, May 9, 2014)

Personal interviews should be treated the same way as personal communications, since neither can be recovered by readers. Since these sources cannot be retrieved, there is no need to provide an entry for them in the reference list. A personal interview should just have an in-text citation and NOT an accompanying reference list entry.

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How to Cite an Interview in APA

Last Updated: January 25, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 114,546 times.

Scholarly papers in the social sciences are often formatted according to the American Psychological Association (APA) style. An essay or thesis that quotes or paraphrases a source should be attributed properly in the text and in the reference list in order to avoid plagiarism. When citing a personal interview, pay particular attention when crafting your internal citation. For published or oral interviews, the citation details will often contain all of the information necessary for someone else to find your source.

Citing a Personal Interview

• This status of ‘personal communication’ also applies to other documents that are ‘not findable’ to other people, such as a private emails.
• For personal interviews, you may also want to include a transcript of your typed questions and answers. This should be included in an Appendix, immediately following your References page.

• The internal citation format looks the same whether you quote or paraphrase. It does not change.
• For example, say you write, “The people in the command room cheered after the event.” If you know this because your interview subject told you so, and this information is not readily available via a textbook, etc., then you must cite it. Failure to do so counts as academic dishonesty.

• You should place the previous sentence’s period after your citation. For example, in the text you will see, “The people in the command center cheered the event (R. Smith, personal communication, October 15, 2000).” Your citation counts as a continuation of that sentence for reference purposes.

• In the case of research interviews, your subjects may need to remain anonymous. Therefore, their full names cannot appear within your citation. Instead, if you have numerous interview participants to keep track of, you can assign them codes, such as “Male participant 23,” or “Participant 23.” [5] X Research source
• The code name will then take the place of the traditional name in the internal citation. For example, your citation will look like, “(Participant 23, personal communication, October 15, 2000)."

• This phrase cannot be abbreviated, so make sure to present it consistently every time in internal citations.

• For example, a date should appear as, “October 15, 2000,” not, “Oct. ’00,” or, “October 15.”

• This is done because it is understood that the reader can get the interview subject’s name from the preceding sentence. Otherwise, listing it twice that close together would bog down the text.
• You might write, “Robert Smith describes how the people in the command room cheered after the event (personal communication, October 15, 2000).”

Citing a Published Interview

• Your date should look like, “(2000),” not, “(’00).”
• If you cannot find a date for the work substitute “n.d.” without quotation marks in its place.

• If you use brackets, add a period immediately after the closed bracket. For example, it will look like, “[Interview with James Michael, author of Reality ].” Or, it could look like, “The Most Amazing Interview Title.”
• If you include a published work in the brief bio description, make sure to italicize the title.
• Include the title exactly as it appears within the published text.

• For example, when working with a single-author journal entry your citation will proceed with the full journal title, the volume number, and the page numbers of the interview. It will look similar to, “Word, J. (2000). [Interview with James Michael, author of Reality ]. Journal of Writing Studies, 20, 400-411.” Note that the journal title is italicized as well.
• If the volume number is not available, it can be omitted. Note that the consecutive page numbers are separated with a dash. To include a series of non-consecutive page numbers you would list them with commas in between. Always end your citation with a period.

• For example, a DOI reference citation for a published interview might look like,”Word, J. (2000). [Interview with James Michael, author of Reality ]. Journal of Writing Studies, 20, 400-411. doi:453432342342.”

• If you quote the published interview directly, then you must include a page number as part of your internal citation. Add a comma after the publication date and write the page number out preceded by a “p.” An in-text citation in this situation should look like, “(Wood, 2000, p. 402).” "Wood" is the author's last name, "2000" is the publication year, and "p.402" means the quotation was found on page 402 in the text.
• In contrast, if you mention the author directly in the text, you can follow a distinct in-text citation style. With this format you include the publication date in parentheses immediately after your mention of the author's last name and add the page numbers at the end of the sentence in parentheses as well. For example, “Wood (2000) stated that “reality is subjective” (p.402).” By looking at this sentence you can tell that the author's last name is Wood, the work was published in the year 2000, and the quote can be found on page 402 in the text. This is a good approach if you are looking to avoid heavy citing. [14] X Research source

Citing an Interview on Audio File

• Follow the date with the interview title, if available. The title should be in italics. Then, in parentheses, state the interviewer’s first initial and last name, followed by a comma and the label “Interviewer.” Then, in brackets, write out “Audio file. Close the brackets and add a period.
• If your audio file came from a website, at the end of your citation write, “Retrieved from,” followed by the website. Or, you can include the DOI here, if available.

Community Q&A

• Make sure to include an APA title page and abstract to conform completely to the style. The references page should be a continuation of the main text in that the header and page numbers will carry over. Place the word “References” at the center top of the page and use double-spacing throughout. A hanging-indent is also used on this page. [16] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Watch out for updates as the APA style changes occasionally with new editions of the style guide. We are now on the 7th edition. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Verify that your professor wants citations in APA. If they prefer another citation style, such as MLA, Chicago, or Harvard, you should cite the interview using that style instead. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Be sure to take careful notes over your source materials. And, when in doubt, it is better to have more rather than fewer citations. This will help you to avoid academic dishonesty. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_other_non_print_sources.html
• ↑ https://guides.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/APA/interview
• ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/personal-communications
• ↑ http://alliant.libguides.com/content.php?pid=268617&sid=2956230
• ↑ http://alliant.libguides.com/content.php?pid=268617&sid=2216576
• ↑ https://morningside.libguides.com/APA7/interviews
• ↑ http://ggu.libguides.com/c.php?g=106881&p=694051
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_abbreviations.html
• ↑ https://libguides.williams.edu/citing/apa
• ↑ https://morningside.libguides.com/APA7/audio

About This Article

To cite a personal interview in APA, start by listing the initial of the interview subject’s first name, followed by their last name, such as “R. Smith.” Next, insert a comma after the name and add “personal communication,” followed by another comma. After that, add the interview date by writing out the month in full, followed by the day and the year in numerals. Then, place your full citation after the sentence in which you quoted the interview, close it off with parentheses, and add a period after the parentheses to end your sentence. To learn more, including how to cite a published interview in APA, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Cite an interview in APA style

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As per Sections 8.7 of the APA Publication Manual , there are three types of interviews:

• Personal interviews: Interviews that you personally conducted. This could be an interview you conducted in person or even questions you sent via email. You may include an in-text citation, but there is no reference list entry.
• Research participant interviews: Interviews conducted for and are first mentioned in the paper you are writing. Since your paper will become the “primary source” for the interview information, no citations are needed .
• Published interviews: Interviews that have been published should be cited using the source type’s format (e.g., newspaper, video, podcast, etc.). You should include both an in-text citation and a reference list entry.

Below is a template and example of a personal interview.

For a published interview, visit the publication type’s specific guide OR use our APA Citation Generator to cite it. Get help with other source types, like books, PDFs, or websites, check out our other guides. To have your reference list or bibliography automatically made for you, try our free citation generator .

Reference list

Personal interviews do NOT need a reference entry since it is considered “personal communication” and is not easily accessible by the general public. This means that readers cannot reference the interview on their own so no reference list entry is needed.

In-text citation

Place this part right after the quote or reference in your assignment.

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In APA, there are three types of interviews:

• Research participant interviews: Interviews conducted for and are first mentioned in the paper you are writing. Since your paper will become the “primary source” for the interview information, no citations are needed.

Let’s review the in-text citations for personal interviews and published interviews.

Personal Interview

Personal interviews ONLY need to be referenced in the text as “personal communication.” Since personal interviews are not “recoverable” sources of information, no reference list entry is needed.

Interviewer Initial and Surname (personal communication, Month Day, Year)

(Interviewer Initial and Surname, personal communication, Month Day, Year)

A. B. O’Connor (personal communication, July 23, 1976)

(A. B. O’Connor, personal communication, July 23, 1976)

Published Interview

Use the citing format for the source type. For example:

• Interview in a newspaper –> Cite the source as a newspaper article
• Podcast interview –> Cite source as a podcast
• YouTube interview –> Cite source as a video

The individual(s) placed as the “author” are usually the creator of the work. This person is typically the interviewer. The interviewee (person who was interviewed) is usually mentioned when you write, but is not part of the citation itself.

General In-text Citation Templates:

Author Surname (Year Published)

(Author Surname, Year Published)

(Author Surname, Year Published, page number or timestamp) – Use this if it’s after a quotation.

Ms. Alma stated that, “He was a very stoic, solitary man who did not speak much to anyone” (Brizbee, 2016, p. 22).

In Brizbee’s (2016) interview, Ms. Alma stated that, “He was a very stoic, solitary man who did not speak much to anyone” (p. 22).

“Nobody will ever think that” (Ching, 1998, 10:09)

Interviews can be of two types: public and personal. According to the APA handbook, public and published interviews like TED Talks are to be handled and cited both in-text and at the reference level; personal interviews are treated like personal communication since they cannot be accessible to one and all. The published interview is to be treated as you see below, when it is a newspaper interview (person’s name), or podcast interview (person’s name) , or a YouTube interview (organization name).

Template for Published Interviews

(Last Name, Year) [for newspaper interviews and podcast interviews]

(Organization Name, Year) [for YouTube interviews]

Example for Published Interviews

(Smith,  2002)

(BBC, 2003)

Template for Private Interviews

(Initials and Last Name, Personal communication, Date)

Example for Private Interviews

(G. Davidson, personal communication, May 7, 1991)

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How to cite an interview in apa 7, published by steve tippins on july 1, 2020 july 1, 2020.

Last Updated on: 2nd February 2024, 05:52 am

If you’re wondering how to cite an interview in APA, there are really just two answers. The most common type of interview provided in papers is the personal interview, which is obtained from a source that is not recoverable by the reader. These include face-to-face interviews, letters, and email messages. Published interviews are those obtained from the Internet, a newspaper, magazine, or other printed sources. 

How to Cite an Interview in APA: Personal Interview

Before conducting an interview, make sure that the information you need is not already in published sources. When you cite an interview that you personally obtained, you will need to adhere to the APA guidelines for citing personal communications. An APA interview citation goes as follows.

In-text citation

(Interviewee’s First Initial. Last Name, personal communication, Month Day, Year)

(A. Vaughn, personal communication, May 14, 2020)

Because girls have traditionally not been encouraged to obtain a degree or career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), more programs and initiatives should be implemented to bridge the gender gaps (A. Vaughn, personal communication, May 14, 2020).

When mentioning the interviewee as part of the narrative, provide the person’s first initial and last name, but do not include his or name in the in-text citation. 

A. Vaughn recommends starting “STEM activities for girls in preschool by having them conduct simple experiments that are fun” (personal communication, May 14, 2020).

Reference list

A personal interview is not from a recoverable source, so you are not required to put it in the list of references. 

How to Cite an Interview in APA : Published Interviews

How to cite an interview in APA if it’s already been published?

When you cite an interview that has been published, follow the appropriate guidelines for the specific reference (e.g. Internet, magazine, journal). The author will be the interviewer. The name of the interviewee is not included in the in-text citation or reference list. However, when you quote what the interviewee said, provide his or her name.

You will need to follow the guidelines for paraphrases and quotations according to the guidelines for the source it is published in, such as journal, book, blog, social media, or public or personal website. The following are some examples of the citation and reference list for published interviews on the Internet and in a magazine.

(Interviewer’s Last name, Year)

(Stevenson, 2020)

When providing the URL from a source, you no longer have to write “Retrieved from” before it. 

Interviewer’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month and/ or Day, if known). Title of interview. Title of webpage. Webpage. URL http://www.url.com

(Stevenson, S. (2020). Profile of a civil engineer: An interview with James Hall. All Engineering Schools. https://www.allengineeringschools.com/engineering-careers/article/civil-engineering-interview/

Interviewer’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month and/ or Day, if known). Title of interview. Title of Magazine, Volume (Issue), page number. 

Gallacher, J. (2004, October 21). How CryptoCycle is using blockchain to prevent fraud: An interview with Duncan Midwood. Recycling and Waste World , 20 (4), 4-5. https://www.recyclingwasteworld.co.uk/interviews/how-cryptocycle-is-using-blockchain-to-to-prevent-fraud/219919/

Citing Interviews With Study Participants in APA Style

You may interview participants as part of your thesis or dissertation. You do not have to cite them in your list of references. When using participants’ statements, you will need to ensure their anonymity for ethical reasons. When you refer to a participant, do not provide any identifying information. You can identify them by using a code, such as Participant A, Student 1. 

APA Interview Citation: Final Thoughts

For more information about how to cite an interview, refer to Sections 6.20 and 8.8 of the APA Manual 7 th edition. 

If you need assistance with APA style or any other aspect of your dissertation, take a look at our Dissertation Editing and Dissertation Coaching services. Or feel free to book a free 30-minute consultation .

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• How to Cite an Interview in Chicago Style | Format & Examples

How to Cite an Interview in Chicago Style | Format & Examples

Published on May 14, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 5, 2022.

Chicago Reference Generator

The format for citing an interview in Chicago notes and bibliography style depends on whether the interview is published or unpublished. An unpublished interview is one you conducted yourself or found in an archive; all other interviews are considered published.

• Unpublished interviews are cited only in notes and don’t appear in the bibliography.
• A published interview is cited in the format of the source type (e.g., newspaper , video ), but with the interviewee listed as author.

Make sure to pay attention to the punctuation (e.g., commas , periods) in notes and citations for both unpublished and published interviews.

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Table of contents

Citing an unpublished interview, citing a published interview, citing interviews in author-date style.

Unpublished interviews include interviews you conducted yourself for the purposes of your research, and any you accessed through archives rather than formal publications. Both are cited only in notes.

• Interview you conducted

Footnote references to interviews you conducted should name the person interviewed, clarify that you were the interviewer, and list the place (if the interview took place in person) and date.

1. John Smith, interview by author, Amsterdam, September 19, 2019.

If you’ve agreed to keep the person interviewed anonymous for any reason, use an appropriate description of them instead of their name.

2. Interview with a high school teacher, Chicago, March 15, 2021.

Any subsequent footnotes for the same interview should be shortened .

3. Smith, interview. 4. Interview with a high school teacher.

Interview from an archive

If the interview is available from an archive (in the form of a transcript or recording), add the name of the interviewer and details of where the interview can be accessed.

4. John Smith, interview by Shona McCombes, July 15, 2020, interview 42A, transcript, Scribbr Archives, Amsterdam. 5. Smith, interview.

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Citations of interviews that have been published in any type of source follow the format for the type of source in which they were published. The only difference from the usual formats is that the note and bibliography entry both begin with the name of the person being interviewed.

Include the  the interviewer’s name after the title. If the name of the person interviewed is mentioned in the title, the name can be omitted from the start of a note (as seen in the examples below), but it should always appear in the bibliography entry.

Click through the tabs below to see how to cite interviews from journals , videos , and magazines .

Published interview citation examples

• Journal interview
• Video interview
• Magazine interview

In author-date style , unpublished interviews do appear in your reference list, with the exception of interviews where the person interviewed cannot be named (usually for reasons of confidentiality). In this case, the interview should just be described in the text or in parentheses.

(interview with a high school teacher, Chicago, March 15, 2021)

Explore the tabs below to see how to cite other kinds of published and unpublished interviews in author-date style.

Author-date interview citation examples

• Interview from archive

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, December 05). How to Cite an Interview in Chicago Style | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 9, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/chicago-style/interviews/

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Answered By: Keely Wilczek Last Updated: Mar 14, 2024     Views: 519

How you should cite an interview depends on whether it is published or unpublished. 

As a rule of thumb, cite published interviews according to the kind of publication, e.g., a journal, newspaper, or magazine article, a television or radio broadcast, etc. Similarly, interviews that are deposited in an archive or special library collection should be cited as the appropriate archival material. 

In most citation styles, including Chicago and APA, unpublished interviews  are usually only cited in notes but not in a bibliography or list of references. The citation should, at a minimum, include the name of the interviewee(s) and the interviewer(s) and the date (and, ideally, the place) of the interview. Additional information can also be provided in the narrative context in which the interview is referenced. 

For more information on how to cite interviews, check the Chicago Manual of Style, sections 14.211-214 (for notes style) and section 15.53 (for author-date citations); or check the APA Publication Manual , section 8.7 (available in print at the HKS Library Service Desk). 

Note: The citation management software Zotero has a special item type for interviews. 

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In-Text Citations: The Basics

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Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style  can be found here .

Reference citations in text are covered on pages 261-268 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.

Note:  On pages 117-118, the Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases that occur in the literature review and procedure descriptions (for example, Jones (1998)  found  or Jones (1998)  has found ...). Contexts other than traditionally-structured research writing may permit the simple present tense (for example, Jones (1998)  finds ).

APA Citation Basics

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

If you are referring to an idea from another work but  NOT  directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference.

On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before listing the page number(s). Use an en dash for page ranges. For example, you might write (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201). This information is reiterated below.

Regardless of how they are referenced, all sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and italics/underlining

• Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones.
• If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are four letters long or greater within the title of a source:  Permanence and Change . Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs:  Writing New Media ,  There Is Nothing Left to Lose .

( Note:  in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized:  Writing new media .)

• When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word:  Natural-Born Cyborgs .
• Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's  Vertigo ."
• If the title of the work is italicized in your reference list, italicize it and use title case capitalization in the text:  The Closing of the American Mind ;  The Wizard of Oz ;  Friends .
• If the title of the work is not italicized in your reference list, use double quotation marks and title case capitalization (even though the reference list uses sentence case): "Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds;" "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."

Short quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p." for a single page and “pp.” for a span of multiple pages, with the page numbers separated by an en dash).

You can introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

If you do not include the author’s name in the text of the sentence, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

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Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout, but do not add an extra blank line before or after it. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Because block quotation formatting is difficult for us to replicate in the OWL's content management system, we have simply provided a screenshot of a generic example below.

Formatting example for block quotations in APA 7 style.

Quotations from sources without pages

Direct quotations from sources that do not contain pages should not reference a page number. Instead, you may reference another logical identifying element: a paragraph, a chapter number, a section number, a table number, or something else. Older works (like religious texts) can also incorporate special location identifiers like verse numbers. In short: pick a substitute for page numbers that makes sense for your source.

Summary or paraphrase

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference and may omit the page numbers. APA guidelines, however, do encourage including a page range for a summary or paraphrase when it will help the reader find the information in a longer work. 

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How to cite an interview

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As a college or university student, you may obtain most of your research when writing a professional paper from books, newspapers, professional journals, as well as online databases. However, in certain situations, you may find the need to cite information gathered from other sources such as interviews. Therefore, it is important to know how to cite an interview. So, how should students handle the sourcing of interviews? In this article, you will find out how to cite an interview and the rules to be followed when citing interviews.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• 1 How to cite an interview - FAQ
• 2 How to cite an interview: Definition
• 3 How to Cite an Interview in APA vs. MLA
• 4 How to cite an Interview: Types
• 5 In a Nutshell

How to cite an interview - FAQ

Do i need to cite an interview.

You need to cite interviews due to reasons because there could be an expert that could provide certain insights that you cannot obtain elsewhere. Also, you need to cite an interview in a paper because there is little written information on a topic.

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How to cite an online interview?

When citing an online interview, you need to indicate the name of the interviewee. Also, if the title of the interview is available, you must put it in quotation marks. Then cite the rest of the entry like you would in any other web content. Indicate the website’s name in italics, add the name of the publisher or sponsor, the URL and date of publication. Key to note is that if the interview you are quoting does not have a title, indicate the descriptor Interview before the name of the interviewer and after the name of the interviewee.

How to cite an interview in a book?

For an interview that is located in a section or chapter of a book, indicate the title of the book, the author (s), publisher, date of publication and page range.

How to cite an interview in a journal?

For a journal, indicate the mane of the journal, volume and number, date and the page range.

How to cite an interview in form of an online video?

If you are using an online audio or video recording, indicate the website or platform, the user and the date that it was uploaded.

How to cite an interview: Definition

When learning how to cite an interview, there are a few basic rules that need to be followed for both APA and MLA styles. However, the basic rule is that you should list first the name of the interviewee. This is then followed by the interviewer’s name, if provided, and place and date that the communication or interview occurred. Here is how to cite an interview in both formatting styles.

How to Cite an Interview in APA vs. MLA

How to cite an interview in apa.

In APA citation , the interviews that you perform yourself have a different format as compared to published interviews. When citing the latter, the standard format of the source that it was published is to be followed. On the other hand, your own interview that is not accessible to the reader should not be added in the reference list. It is instead cited in the text as a personal communication.

How to cite an interview in MLA

In-text citation in MLA style involves putting the interviewee’s name as the author. When adding the Works Cited section, the name is of the interviewee has to be followed by the interview’s title which is put in quotation marks. In the case where there’s not available title, the description Interview can be used (without any quotation marks or styling).

If you performed the interview yourself, indicate your name as well as the interview’s date. When citing a published interview, add the interviewer’s name and the source’s full details.

How to cite an Interview : Types

Interviews naturally are in two categories: personal (unpublished) interviews and print or broadcast (published) interviews, although some interviews may appear in similar other formats like web content or email format. Here are some of the different types of interviews and how to handle them:

How to cite an interview you conducted on your own

Unpublished or personal interviews are interviews conducted by yourself. You must indicate where the information can be found. In this case, you are supposed to add the name of the interview and interviewee. Also, it is crucial to indicate the descriptor “personal interview” as well as the date the interview occurred.

Key to note when learning how to cite an own interview that you have conducted cannot be put in the reference list. This is due to the fact that it can’t be retrieved by your readers. The manner in which you will refer in the text will depend on if you will include the interview transcript in the appendix. An example of how to cite an interview that is unpublished would look like this:

Vernie, Murray. Personal Interview. 23 March 2021.

How to cite an interview that is published

When citing published interviews, indicate the full name of interview and interviewee. In the case where the interview’s name is part of a greater work such as a television program, film series or a book, add the interview’s title in quotation marks, then add the greater work’s title in italics. Where the interview appears to be an independent title, you need to place it in italics. If it is a book, indicate the name of the editor or author after the title of the book.

Key to note when learning how to cite an interview is that there are interviews with no titles. If the interview you’re quoting doesn’t have a title, indicate the descriptor “Interview” (without quotation marks) after you have placed the name of the interviewee and before the name of the interviewer. An example of how to cite an interview that is published is:

Gaitskill, Jane. Interview with Chris Smith. Nicaragua Review , vol.23, no.6, 2017, pp. 42-69.

How to cite an interview that is anonymous

When citing interviews that have anonymous sources, do not indicate the name of the source. This can be done by using a descriptor such as “anonymous informant” or “recreational heroine user”. However, in this case, you must indicate in the text the reason for your omission of the source’s name.

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In a Nutshell

Understanding how to cite an interview and personal communications in both APA and MLA styles is essential in writing professional papers. The tips mentioned above will help you understand how to cite an interview and the types of interviews that exist. Also, citing an interview enables your readers to understand where you obtained your information better. It also helps your readers to appreciate the special insights provided by your sources in your arguments. Here is a summary of how to cite an interview:

• Always indicate the interviewee’s name, and the interview’s title. If it does not have a title provided, indicate it using the descriptor, Interview.
• There are two categories of interviews: published and unpublished.
• Personal communication involves interviews that are unpublished and are conducted via in-person interviews, emails, text messages, online chats, unrecorded lectures and similar methods.
• MLA citation follows the format (Interviewee’s Last name, first name. Interview conducted by interviewer’s name. Interview date.)
• APA citation style does not require adding of personal interview in the list of references. You only need to place a parenthetical citation in the paper’s body. Its format is (First initial. Last name. Personal communication. Interview’s date.)

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