Q. How should I cite an interview?

How you should cite an interview depends on whether it is published or unpublished. 

As a rule of thumb, cite published interviews according to the kind of publication, e.g., a journal, newspaper, or magazine article, a television or radio broadcast, etc. Similarly, interviews that are deposited in an archive or special library collection should be cited as the appropriate archival material. 

In most citation styles, including Chicago and APA, unpublished interviews are usually only cited in notes but not in a bibliography or list of references. The citation should, at a minimum, include the name of the interviewee(s) and the interviewer(s) and the date (and, ideally, the place) of the interview. Additional information can also be provided in the narrative context in which the interview is referenced. 

For more information on how to cite interviews, check the Chicago Manual of Style, sections 14.211-214 (for notes style) and section 15.53 (for author-date citations); or check the APA Publication Manual, section 8.7 (available in print at the HKS Library Service Desk). 

Note: The citation management software Zotero has a special item type for interviews.