Using interviews in research or essays that will be published requires citing the source, including the interviewee, the interviewee and publication on a specific page. If you personally conducted the interview for a research project, and it is not published, you must explain it and insert a quote in parentheses in the text, rather than treating it as a classic quote. Find out how to correctly quote an interview.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Cite Chicago-Style Interviews
Step 1. Start with the interviewee's surname and first name
Put the period at the end.
Put the word "Interview" in place of the title, if there isn't one. Close with a period
Step 2. Enter the title of the interview, if any
Put it in quotes. Place a period before closing the quotation marks.
Step 3. Add the interviewer's name, in the format of surname, first name and initial of the middle name
Put a period right after.
Step 4. The title of the newspaper, television channel or broadcast medium is italicized
Add a comma and the edition, if applicable. Add a comma at the end.
Use the abbreviation "ed." For edition
Step 5. Put the producers, if they are famous
Use the surname, first name and middle initial format.
Step 6. Write the date of publication, airing or periodical
The correct format is month, day and year. Put a period before the last information.
Step 7. Enter the place of publication
Use semicolons.
Step 8. Write the name of the publisher, followed by a comma and the year of publication
Add a point.
Step 9. Include the page number if possible
Close the quote with a period.
If you have limited information on the interview, enter only what you have
Method 2 of 3: Mention Interviews in the MLA Style
Step 1. Start with the name of the interviewee
Write your surname, comma and name, followed by a period.
Step 2. Add the interview title
Put a period.
- If the interview is the title of a complete work, use italics.
- If the interview is part of a larger project, put the title in quotation marks. Include the project name in italics immediately after, if you can. If it is a book, add the author. For example, "Written by John Smith".
- If the interview has no title, put the interviewer's name. For example, "Interviewed by John Smith."
Step 3. Use the name of the periodical in italics, followed by the publisher
Step 4. Include the year of publication
- If the interview is a publication, the year must be in parentheses, followed by a colon. Immediately after that put the page number and a period.
- If the interview is in a book, include the place, colon, publisher and year of publication.
Step 5. Close the quote with the medium
For example, Print, Web or Television.
- If the interview is online, include the date of access after the medium. For example, "Web. March 1, 2013".
- When using the MLA style, the type of source, such as a book, website or magazine, indicates the information that must be included. Use the general rules for that type of source to make a correct citation.
Method 3 of 3: Cite an APA Style Interview
Step 1. Start with the interviewer's name
Use the surname, comma, and initial format.
Step 2. Add an ampersand, "&" and the interviewee's name in the same format
Put a period right after.
Use the words "Interviewer" and "Interviewee" in parentheses to distinguish people
Step 3. Include the year of publication in parentheses
Add "Interview Transcript" in parentheses, if applicable.
Step 4. Add the title of the interview or work in italics
Step 5. Continue quoting the interview based on the type of source
- If the interview is published on a website, write the name of the source. For example, "Available on Felt & Wire". Then, add the URL. Use the word "site", a colon and the URL.
- If the interview is in a book, add place, colon and publisher. Close with a period.
- If the interview is in a periodical, put the name of the periodical, comma, volume number, issue number in brackets and the pages, followed by a period. Add the DOI, if it is an online periodical.
- As with the MLA style, the type of citation used is based on the interview medium.
