How should personal communications that are not retrievable be cited in APA format?

Personal communications that are not retrievable, such as private emails, conversations, or interviews, are cited in the text of your work rather than in the reference list. This is because these types of sources do not provide a recoverable, accessible source for readers. The appropriate way to include them in your text is to provide the person’s name, the phrase “personal communication,” and the date of the communication.

Doing so gives credit to the source while also clarifying to the reader that the information was derived from a non-researchable context. This upholds the standards of transparency and academic integrity in your writing, allowing for proper attribution while recognizing the limitations inherent in the source.

In contrast, other options lack the correct approach, as personal communications are not included in the reference list, do deserve citation in a text format but are not typically put in an appendix, and should not be completely omitted from citations.