How to Cite an Interview in APA, MLA, and Chicago Reference Format
Formatting references in research papers requires you to follow the journal guidelines and ensure that the format aligns with a specific style guide. References can be of different types—journal articles, conference papers, books, technical reports, and interviews to name a few. If you have referred a work to help conduct your research and you find it worth citing in your manuscript, all those works must be listed under references at the end of your manuscript.
This blog explains how to cite and format interviews in APA (7th edition), MLA (9th edition), and Chicago (17th edition) style formats.
How to Cite Interviews in APA Style Format
How to Cite Interviews in MLA Style Format
How to Cite Interviews in Chicago Style Format
What are Interview Citations?
Just like how you cite journal articles or other reference works, citing interviews is a formal way of acknowledging that a person contributed to your research. The format of interview can vary—spoken, video recording, or email communication. But it is important that you credit the right people for assisting you with your research.
Interview citations also help you develop credible research, avoid plagiarism, prevent spreading of misinformation, and ensure that your sources are officially verified. The format of interview citations depends on the type of interview conducted as well as the requirements of different style guides.
Types of Interviews
Before learning about formatting interview citations, it is important to know the types of interviews that you are likely to encounter during your research. Interviews can be broadly categorized into two types: personal interviews and published interviews.
Personal Interviews
Interviews conducted by you either through a telephonic conversation, an e-mail communication, a conference call, or video recording are considered personal interviews. These interviews are unpublished, yet they need to be acknowledged.
Published Interviews
Published interviews are those that are recorded and publicly available for access. For example, if you find some information that is relevant to your research in an interview that you read in a newspaper, or watched an interview on YouTube, or heard it on a podcast and decided to quote them in your manuscript, then these need to be written as in-text citations and listed under references like all other works.
How to Cite Interviews in APA Style Format
The APA style guide (7th edition) outlines the format separately for published and unpublished (or personal) interviews.
Citing Unpublished Interviews
In APA, unpublished interviews are only cited in in-text citations and not included in the reference list as they are not discoverable by readers.
| In-text citation format | (Interviewee initials. Surname, personal communication, month day year) |
| Example | (J.D. Dover, personal communication, January 21, 2026) |
Citing Published Interviews
Interviews published in books, magazines, and social media platforms are publicly available and should be cited in the main manuscript as well as included in the reference list.
| Reference format | Surname, Initials. (Year, Month Day). Title or description of the interview [mode of interview]. Website/Platform Name. URL |
| Example | Federer, R. (2024, September 19). Doctor Roger Federer will see you now [Podcast video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0foth8r3Zbg |
| In-text citation format | (Surname, year) |
| Example | (Federer, 2024) |
APA Summary: Key Points to Note
- Personal interviews are not included in the reference list; only in-text citations are necessary.
- Published interviews should be cited in full under references and included as in-text citations.
- Use sentence case to mention the title of the interview and specify the platform.
- Published interviews can be in various formats: podcast episode, video, newspaper or magazine article, transcript, etc. Choose the most appropriate format that makes the interview easily consumable to readers who wish to refer to it.
How to Cite Interviews in MLA Style Format
The MLA style guide (9th edition) requires interviews to be mentioned both in the Works Cited page and in the main manuscript for both published and unpublished interviews. Note that the months are abbreviated in MLA format when referencing.
Citing Unpublished Interviews
| Reference format | Interviewee Surname, First name. Personal interview. By [name of the interviewer, i.e., Your Name], Day month year |
| Example | Conway, Devon. Personal interview. By Jane Augustine, 23 Dec. 2025 |
| In-text citation format | (Interviewee’s surname) |
| Example | (Conway) |
Citing Published Interviews
| Reference format | Interviewee’s Surname, First Name. “Title of the Interview.” Title of the Container, interviewed by [Interviewer Name], Publication Date, URL or page number. |
| Example | Leonard, Chris. “Can ChatGPT Support Scholarly Communication?” Editage Insights, interviewed by Mriganka Awati, 2 Feb. 2023, https://www.editage.com/insights/can-chatgpt-support-scholarly-communications-interview-with-christopher-leonard |
| In-text citation format | (Interviewee’s surname) |
| Example | (Leonard) |
MLA Summary: Key Points to Note
- Both personal communications and published interviews should be cited in the main manuscript and listed under references.
- The title of the interview should be written in title case (capitalize the first letter of key words in the title).
- Interviewer’s name, if known, should be included.
How to Cite Interviews in Chicago Style Format
There are two citation formats in the Chicago style guide (17th edition): author-date system and the notes & bibliography system. The author-date system is often implemented in physical science and social science disciplines. Humanities typically prefer the notes & bibliography system. The format for citing interviews differs in each system.
Citing Unpublished Interviews
In both systems, unpublished interviews need not be mentioned under references. Meaning, in the author-date system, only the in-text citation should be given; in the notes & bibliography system, the interview should be mentioned only as a footnote and not listed under bibliography.
| Notes & bibliography system | |
| Footnote format | 1. Interviewee’s First name and Last name, interview by [Your Name], Month Day, Year.
|
| Example | 1. Steve Rogers, interview by John Harper, September 23, 2025 |
| Author-date system | |
| In-text citation format | (Surname year) |
| Example | (Rogers 2025) |
Citing Published Interviews
Published interviews must be cited in full like all other references under both systems when you are following the Chicago style guide.
| Reference format | Interviewee’s Last Name, First Name. Title of the Interview. Interview by [Interviewer’s Name]. Platform or Publisher name. Month Day, Year. |
| Example | Federer, Roger. Doctor Roger Federer Will See You Now. Interview by Trevor Noah. YouTube. September 19, 2024 |
| Notes & bibliography system | |
| Footnote format | 1. Interviewee’s First name and Last name, interview by [Interviewer’s Name], Month Day, Year. |
| Example | 1. Roger Federer, interview by Trevor Noah, September 19, 2024 |
| Author-date system | |
| In-text citation format | (Surname year) |
| Example | (Federer 2024) |
Chicago Summary: Key Points to Note
- The citation system can be selected by you based on your discipline or by following the submission guidelines.
- Personal interviews are cited only as a footnote or as an in-text citation and not listed under bibliography in either system.
- Interviews published as an article or a video require full citations under bibliography and must be cited in the main manuscript as a footnote or in-text citation.
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