How to Cite an Interview in an Article
Interviews can add depth and credibility to a research paper; it is, however, essential that interviewees know how to properly cite interviews.
Published interviews (print or broadcast) should be cited according to their format in which they appeared; personal interviews should be cited only in parentheses as personal communication and are not necessary in the reference list.
Citing an Interview in MLA
Interviews provide an engaging firsthand view of a topic, providing additional evidence to supplement written sources in your paper. However, it’s essential that you know how to cite an interview in MLA; there are three methods: in-text citation; works Cited list inclusion and personal communication citation.
Citing interviews requires providing the interviewee’s last name and first initial, followed by the title of their interview in quotation marks, date of interview and type of interview; for example “Smith claimed that food builds relationships due to cultural appreciation inherent in sharing meals together (Smith, personal communication).”
For published interviews, follow the format used by books or newspapers; that is, listing first the interviewee’s name followed by the interview title in quotation marks and publication name and date in italics. When conducting broadcast interviews for TV shows or movies, follow this same pattern; interviewee name should come first, with title italicized followed by date parenthetically.
If you are using personal communications as interviews, be sure to include the full dialogue in your Works Cited entry. This could include emails or telephone conversations; for emails write “Email Interview” or “Telephone Interview,” followed by the date and add a period. For instance: Johnson stated that an average day of errands was more stressful than any week-long vacation (Johnson, personal communication).
MLA Citations for Interviews can be intimidating at first, especially if you are more accustomed to citing books and articles. But once you understand how to cite interviews in MLA it can become an invaluable source of research for any paper. MLA interview citation guidelines are similar to other sources, making the use of interviews citation easier; just ensure your Works Cited entry provides back up should any problems arise.
Citing an Interview in APA
APA style dictates specific rules when it comes to citing interviews. Interview citations generally fall into two categories: personal and published. When it comes to conducting your own interview – such as email correspondence or phone interviews – no need for reference list entries as this should instead be treated as personal communications in your paper. Conversely, published interviews found in other sources like newspaper articles, podcast episodes or video interviews require both an in-text citation as well as reference list entry for standardization purposes.
Cite an interviewee’s initials and last name along with “personal communication” followed by the date. Place this citation immediately following quoted or paraphrased content.
If quoting directly from an interviewee, use quotation marks around their words before adding an APA in-text citation in parentheses; its format should read as such: (Communicator’s first and last names, “personal communication,” date of interview)
As part of your thesis or dissertation research, you may interview research participants for interviews. When doing so, however, it is necessary to use a specific style of citation; these participants usually sign confidentiality agreements that prevent their names being mentioned within your paper. Cite interviews conducted with unpublished personal sources as unpublished personal communications, rather than including them in your reference list. Instead, include them within your text by inserting an in-text citation after any quote or paraphrase from an interviewee. Personal communications include emails, texts messages, telephone conversations, live speeches, class lecture notes, memos and letters. It is generally recommended that only works that can be easily retrieved by readers be included in your reference list. However, if this information is key to your paper or research, including it in your reference list may be wise. When doing so, cite it according to its format – for example if published in a magazine article it must be cited as newspaper article etc.
Citing an Interview in Chicago
Chicago style interview citations adhere to the rules set out by the Chicago Manual of Style and can be used in research papers and other written works to cite interviews that have been published or conducted by someone else. Their format may differ depending on whether they’re being cited in-text or bibliographies.
Interview citation format for in-text citations begins by listing the name of the person being interviewed or from whom information is being drawn, followed by their last name, a comma, and date (written in month day year format). When applicable, suffixes such as Jr. or Sr. may be included whereas titles like professor or doctor should be left out.
For unpublished personal interviews, use a footnote instead of full citation in the text. A footnote should begin with an interviewee’s first and last name, followed by a comma and date (month day year) of communication or interviewing; if applicable if conducted in-person include also where this occurred.
Include in parentheses a brief summary of your interviewee or source, for instance “Meghan Leahy was interviewed by Emily Hargrave in January 2021 in Cincinnati, OH”.
If the identity of an interviewee cannot be disclosed, their interview should be referenced as personal communication in-text; for example a live interview with a retired department store Santa may be noted as “Nick Kringle was interviewed by author on November 14, 2018.”
Interviews provide invaluable sources of data for research papers and other writing projects, but it’s crucial that authors know how to cite an interview correctly in order to avoid plagiarism. An online plagiarism checker like Chegg Writing can ensure your paper contains only correctly cited interview materials, while helping identify typos or formatting issues you might otherwise miss yourself. Give this tool a free trial run now to see how well it works!
Citing an Interview in Harvard
Citing an interview can bring your reader closer to the topic at hand, yet proper citation is key for making that connection easy for them. Information included in citation will vary depending on whether or not an interview has been published/unpublished and also its presentation format; we will discuss both MLA and APA formats below.
Published and personal interviews can be divided into two general categories. Published interviews include those published through print media or any form of electronic media such as podcasts, television broadcasts or websites; personal interviews involve conversations conducted verbally or electronically that don’t end up as published sources. Both types are invaluable sources for your research but may require different formatting rules to keep accurate records of.
Citing an interview in MLA requires including both the interviewee’s name and date in parenthetical citations within your text. Only use an interviewee’s full name with their permission; otherwise use “personal communication,” with day/month information of interview.
For your research paper in APA format, an interview should be cited both within its text and on a Works Cited page as references. In general, an interviewee’s last name and initials will appear first followed by date information such as day/month/year of their interview.
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