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

In APA Style, published interviews are cited in a different format from interviews you conducted yourself.

An interview you conducted yourself that can’t be accessed by the reader should not be included in the reference list. Instead, it’s cited as a personal communication in the text.

To cite a published interview, follow the standard format for the source type it was published in (e.g. book, newspaper).

Citing interviews you conducted

An interview you conducted yourself is not included in the reference list, because it is not retrievable by your readers.

The way you refer to these interviews in the text depends on whether you include a transcript of the interview in an appendix.

Quoting your research participants

If your research methodology involved conducting formal interviews with participants, transcripts of these interviews are typically included in an appendix. You don’t need citations when quoting your research participants; just mention where the transcripts can be found.

This only needs to be mentioned once; don’t refer to the appendix every time you quote from it. Similar advice applies to surveys.

Citing personal interviews

Personal interviews are those you conducted informally to obtain additional information to support your arguments. They are typically not included in an appendix.

As these are not published anywhere, they should be cited as personal communications in the text and omitted from the reference list.

Include the interviewee’s initials and last name, the words “personal communication,” and the date on which the interview was conducted.

Citing published interviews

To cite a published interview, follow the format for the source type in which it was published.

The author is usually the interviewer. The name of the person interviewed is not included in the citation or in the reference list.

However, it’s important to make it clear exactly who said what when you quote from an interview conducted by someone else. In the following example, the citation incorrectly implies that the quote is from Davenport:

To make it clear that these are the words of the interviewee, not the interviewer, name the speaker directly in the sentence:

Citing a newspaper interview

To cite an interview published in a newspaper, follow the standard newspaper format, listing the interviewer in the author position.

Citing a podcast interview

To cite an interview from a podcast, follow the format for citing a podcast episode, listing the host in the author position.

Citing an interview from YouTube

To cite an interview you viewed on YouTube, follow the standard format for citing a YouTube video. Note that the person or organization that uploaded the video, rather than the person conducting the interview, appears in the author position.

Frequently asked questions about APA Style citations

Should interviews be included in an APA reference list?

Interviews you conducted yourself are not included in your reference list, but instead cited in the text as personal communications.

Published or recorded interviews are included in the reference list. Cite them in the usual format of the source type (for example, a newspaper article, website or YouTube video).

What types of source are cited as a personal communication in APA Style?

In APA Style, all sources that are not retrievable for the reader are cited as personal communications. In other words, if your source is private or inaccessible to the audience of your paper, it’s a personal communication.

Common examples include conversations, emails, messages, letters, and unrecorded interviews or performances.