Documentation
Q. I am writing a seminar paper of which the majority of references are interviews I have done. How do I reference these within the paper? Should I provide a note each time I reference an interview? What should the note look like if I’m also attaching a full bibliography?
A. Please see CMOS 17.205: “Unpublished interviews are best cited in text or in notes, though they occasionally appear in bibliographies or reference lists. Citations should include the names of both the person interviewed and the interviewer; brief identifying information, if appropriate; the place or date of the interview (or both, if known); and, if a transcript or tape is available, where it may be found.” In other words, if you give complete information in the text, you don’t need a note or bibliography entry. Write something like “In an interview with the author in Hinsdale, Illinois, on February 20, 2008, Richard Goss claimed that . . .” The next time, you can be more brief: “In my 2008 interview with Goss, I learned . . .” If you do cite the interview in a note or bibliography, see CMOS 17.205 for examples.
