"interview" type is formatted incorrectly in Chicago 18th edition

labrouill91 · 2025-12-02T23:43:23+00:00

I am using the Chicago 18th ed. notes style, and the way it cites unpublished interviews in Word is incorrect.

Per the Chicago Manual, how they should be cited:

1. Christian Durr (Curator, Mauthausen Memorial), Interview with the author, August 30, 2023, Zoom Video Call.

2. Durr, Interview.

How they are currently being cited:

1. Christian Durr, “Interview with Christian Durr, Curator at Mauthausen Memorial,” interview by Author, August 30, 2023, Zoom Video Call.

2. Christian Durr, “Interview,” August 30, 2023.

I have tried and failed at adjusting the CSL file. Does anyone know a workaround?

dunning · 2025-12-03T12:56:42+00:00

The title field should only be used for a titled interview, as in these examples (from CMOS 14.110):

https://www.zotero.org/groups/2205533/items/PTREB4H3

https://www.zotero.org/groups/2205533/items/GEILI2KG

For an untitled or unpublished interview, the title needs to be blank and you'll need to add the names under 'Interviewer' and 'Interview With' (CMOS 14.108):

https://www.zotero.org/groups/2205533/items/IXQV8YM8

https://www.zotero.org/groups/2205533/items/GQ46F8B6

The latter example shows how best to fit in a line such as 'in discussion with the author'. You will need to use the genre variable, which isn't displayed by default but can be added using the Extra field. This is also useful for an unattributed interview labelled only with 'interview with health-care worker' or similar (CMOS 14.109):

https://www.zotero.org/groups/2205533/items/TMF724TM

labrouill91 · 2025-12-03T16:26:14+00:00

When I did what you suggested, this is what I am getting

Christian Durr, interview by Author, August 30, 2023, Zoom Video Call.
Christian Durr, Zoom Video Call, August 30, 2023.

Which is still off a bit. How would I go about putting in his title? and why will his first name not disappear?

This is what the item looks like:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u17084896/dnh0mk4vai7ljr0upm1y.png

Thank you for your help!

dunning · 2025-12-04T10:03:35+00:00

There isn't a perfect way of storing a bracketed addition to a name (also an issue for social media handles); the best you can do is to add a comma after the first name and then add the bracketed section after. This is how I would suggest encoding your example:

https://www.zotero.org/groups/2205533/items/TBRJG8UF

The name will display properly in a note, but if you need to do this in a citation appearing in a bibliography, be aware that you will get a stray comma that needs to be deleted. (This is also an issue with social media handles.)

For more detail, see the Mfundishi Maasi example in CMOS 14.108:

1. Mfundishi Maasi (cofounder, Black Community Defense and Development), in discussion with the author, March 2013. Transcript available on request.
2. Benjamin Spock, interview by Milton J. E. Senn, November 20, 1974, interview 67A, transcript, Senn Oral History Collection, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD.
3. Maasi, discussion; Spock, interview.

Here are the encoded Maasi and Spock citations:

https://www.zotero.org/groups/2205533/items/GQ46F8B6

https://www.zotero.org/groups/2205533/items/IXQV8YM8

The display of the full name in the shortened note is definitely a bug; I will track down the cause of that.

dunning · 2025-12-07T22:39:11+00:00

I have added code to allow shortened citations of inaccessible interviews/personal communications to my current Chicago update:

https://github.com/citation-style-language/styles/pull/7811

I have no idea when these updates will make it into Zotero, but in the meantime it's possible to download the styles from GitHub. I've also submitted updates for the same problem in MHRA and New Hart's Rules.