How to Cite an Interview in APA
Establish if the interview counts as a ‘personal communication.’ If you conducted the interview, it is considered ‘personal.’ If another person created the interview and published it for general use, it is considered ‘published.’ Personal interviews...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Establish if the interview counts as a ‘personal communication.’ If you conducted the interview
This should be included in an Appendix, immediately following your References page. -
Step 2: it is considered ‘personal.’ If another person created the interview and published it for general use
Use the information as you normally would while writing.
However, know that you must include an internal citation if you mention anything beyond ‘common knowledge’ that is part of the interview.
The internal citation format looks the same whether you quote or paraphrase.
It does not change.For example, if 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. , Immediately after the sentence in which you paraphrased or quoted the interview, include a parenthetical citation, essentially a full citation contained with parentheses.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. , Include their first initial followed by a period, add a space, and follow it with their full last name.
The initial and last name should be capitalized.
Place a comma after their complete name.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.”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)."
It should be kept in all lower-case letters.
Follow it with a period and another space.This phrase cannot be abbreviated, so make sure to present it consistently every time in internal citations. , Take a space after the previous comma.
Write out the month in full followed by the numerical day.
A comma should be placed after the day number, add another space, and include the numerical year in four-digit format.For example, a date should appear as, “October 15, 2000,” not, “Oct. ’00,” or, “October
15.” , The parentheses should open at the start of the citation (place it right before the author’s first initial) and close at the end of your citation (place it right after the year date).
Remember to place the sentence’s period after your closed parentheses., You may end up stating the interviewee’s name in the text, in the area directly preceding the citation.
If that is the case, you can go with a somewhat pared down version of your internal citation.
Simply remove the author’s name from within the parentheses and cite as you normally would.
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).” -
Step 3: it is considered ‘published.’ Personal interviews are cited parenthetically (or internally) in the text
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Step 4: but not included in your works cited or reference list.This status of ‘personal communication’ also applies to other documents that are ‘unfindable’ to other people
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Step 5: such as a private emails.For personal interviews
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Step 6: you may also want to include a transcript of your typed questions and answers.
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Step 7: Paraphrase or directly quote the interview.
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Step 8: Follow the interview information with a parenthetical citation.
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Step 9: Begin with the name of the interview subject.
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Step 10: Add the phrase
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Step 11: “personal communication.” Insert a single space after the comma and the phrase should appear immediately thereafter.
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Step 12: Finish with the date of the interview.
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Step 13: Place your citation in parentheses.
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Step 14: Include the author’s name directly in the text.
Detailed Guide
This should be included in an Appendix, immediately following your References page.
Use the information as you normally would while writing.
However, know that you must include an internal citation if you mention anything beyond ‘common knowledge’ that is part of the interview.
The internal citation format looks the same whether you quote or paraphrase.
It does not change.For example, if 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. , Immediately after the sentence in which you paraphrased or quoted the interview, include a parenthetical citation, essentially a full citation contained with parentheses.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. , Include their first initial followed by a period, add a space, and follow it with their full last name.
The initial and last name should be capitalized.
Place a comma after their complete name.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.”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)."
It should be kept in all lower-case letters.
Follow it with a period and another space.This phrase cannot be abbreviated, so make sure to present it consistently every time in internal citations. , Take a space after the previous comma.
Write out the month in full followed by the numerical day.
A comma should be placed after the day number, add another space, and include the numerical year in four-digit format.For example, a date should appear as, “October 15, 2000,” not, “Oct. ’00,” or, “October
15.” , The parentheses should open at the start of the citation (place it right before the author’s first initial) and close at the end of your citation (place it right after the year date).
Remember to place the sentence’s period after your closed parentheses., You may end up stating the interviewee’s name in the text, in the area directly preceding the citation.
If that is the case, you can go with a somewhat pared down version of your internal citation.
Simply remove the author’s name from within the parentheses and cite as you normally would.
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).”
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