Artwork [includes art viewed in museums, online, and in other sources]

Other Visual Works [includes charts, clip art, diagrams, graphs, infographics, lecture notes, maps, and slideshows]

Social Media

Social Media [includes examples for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as well as for posts and comments on online forums like Reddit]

Email or Interview

Citations need to be retrievable, meaning whoever reads your paper needs to be able to find the same sources that you used. Therefore, email and some interviews must be cited in your paper instead of in your reference list.

Emails

Emails cannot be retrieved by your readers, so they cannot be included in your reference list. Cite an email as a personal communication as explained below.

Personal Interviews

Personal interviews that you conducted (in person, via email, by telephone, or online) cannot be included in your reference list because your readers cannot retrieve this type of interview. Cite it as a personal communication as explained below.

Published Interviews

Published interviews are cited using the template that matches the source’s format. Depending on the format, the citation may or may not include [Interview] as a description. As an example, for an interview that you read in a magazine or newspaper, cite it using the Periodical Article template. Or, for a recorded interview, use the Video Recording or Audio Recording template.

If you found an interview in a magazine, cite the article using the Magazine or Journal Article option on the Periodical Article template:

Winfrey, Oprah. (2013, May). Oprah talks to Maya Angelou. O, The Oprah Magazine, 14(5), 154-155, 193.

If you listened to an interview found in an online archive, cite the recording using the Archived Interview option on the Audio Recording template:

Grauman, A. (1983, April 13). Oral history interview with Ann Grauman [Interview]. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn503278

If you watched a non-archived interview on YouTube, cite the video using the Other Online Video option on the Video Recording template:

OWN. (2014, June 24). What Michael Jackson wanted the world to know [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=k8-0fLQCrIE

(If the citation format does not display correctly on your device, view the image instead.)

How to Cite Personal Communications

Personal communications include telephone calls, emails, text messages, online chats or direct messages, personal interviews, memos, letters, messages from non-archived discussion groups or online bulletin boards, and so on.

Because personal communications cannot be retrieved by someone who reads your paper, personal communications cannot be included in the reference list. Cite them in your paper using an in-text citation instead.

Include the initial(s) and last name of the communicator; this description: personal communication; and the date the communication took place.

You may either cite it using a narrative citation, by including it within a sentence in your paper, or by using a parenthetical citation, which usually appears at the end of the relevant sentence.

Narrative: According to J. Forrester (personal communication, August 14, 2020), the decision…
Parenthetical: …decision was based on experience (J. Forrester, personal communication, August 14, 2020).

Live Performance, Talk, or Event

Citations need to be retrievable, meaning whoever reads your paper needs to be able to find the same sources that you used. Therefore, live performances, talks, or events must be cited in your paper instead of in your reference list. Cite them as a personal communication as explained below.

However, if a live performance that you attended was recorded and is retrievable, cite the recording using the Video Recording or Audio Recording template.

Or, if a lecture that you attended was not recorded but slides or lecture notes are retrievable online, cite the slides or notes using the Other Visual Works option on the Artwork template.

Citation Examples of Recordings or Notes for Live Events You Attended

If you attended a live performance of the Seattle Symphony on December 28, 2019, and a video recording was made, cite the video:

Seattle Symphony. (2019, December 30). Vivaldi: L'inverno ("winter") from the four seasons [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/77PfZjWfF7E

If you were at Bryce Canyon National Park on September 23, 2016 and heard Kelly Ricks’ ranger talk about the night sky, and a video recording was made, cite the video:

Ricks, K. (2016, September 23). Bryce Canyon night sky ranger talk [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/EIBjn9IVhTo

If you attended the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on March 3, 2016, and a recording was made of the concert, cite the recording:

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. (2016). Circlin’ back: Celebrating 50 years [Album]. NGDB.

If you attended a class lecture at Florida National University in 2018, and PowerPoint slides are available, cite the slides:

Mack, R., & Spake, G. (2018). Citing open source images and formatting references for presentations [PowerPoint slides]. Canvas@FNU. https://fnu.onelogin.com/login

(If the citation format does not display correctly on your device, view the image instead.)

How to Cite Personal Communications

If you attended a live event that was not recorded, treat it as a personal communication because as a source, it is not retrievable by others. Cite it within your paper using an in-text citation. Do not cite it in your reference list.

Include the initial(s) and last name of the performer or lecturer, a brief description like personal communication (for a talk or lecture) or live play or live concert, and the date the event took place.

You may either cite it using a narrative citation, by including it within a sentence in your paper, or by using a parenthetical citation, which usually appears at the end of the relevant sentence.

Narrative: According to J. Forrester (personal communication, August 14, 2020), the decision…; …the Oregon Shakespeare Festival performance of MacBeth (live play, September 20, 2019), included a…
Parenthetical: …decision was based on experience (J. Forrester, personal communication, August 14, 2020).; …included in MacBeth (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, live play, September 20, 2019)...

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