For e-mail, get the writer's permission to use his/her words. Remember to print off a copy of the e-mail for verification of the information as e-mail messages are not available to others. Style manuals give a sample of citing e-mail in reference lists.

Examples

MLA:

Piper, Peter. "Re: Web Tutorial." E-mail to the author. 9 Sept. 2006.

APA:

E-mail messages are cited within the text of your paper and are not included in the bibliography. Therefore, for example, in your paper you would include:

Peter Piper (personal communication, Sept. 9, 2006) e-mailed that he found the web tutorial very useful.

Do I need to include a citation if I conduct an interview with someone?
Ask the person you are interviewing for permission to use their conversation before you start the interview. Their discussion with you should be credited to them since you are using their ideas. Make sure you include the appropriate citation for interviews.

Examples

MLA:

Piper, Peter. Telephone interview. 9 Sept. 2006.

Piper, Peter.  Interview.  McNeil/Lehrer News Hour .  KERA, Dallas.  9 Sept. 2006. 

APA:

Personal (unpublished) interviews are cited within the text of your paper and are not included in the bibliography. Therefore, for example, in your paper you would include:

Peter Piper (personal communication, Sept. 9, 2006) said in a telephone interview that he found the web tutorial very useful.

Published interviews, such as those on TV, can be done as follows:

Edleman, M. W. (2004, October 21). [Interview with Tavis Smiley, host of The Tavis Smiley Show ]. Marian Wright Edelman: Bush leaving kids behind . Retrieved October 24, 2004, from NPR Web site: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4120281.