Citing Sources: Images, Charts, Graphs & Tables

Citing Information From an Image, Chart, Table or Graph

If you refer to information from an image, chart, table or graph, but do not reproduce it in your paper, create a citation both in-text and on your References list.

If the information is part of another format, for example a book, magazine article, encyclopedia, etc., cite the work it came from. For example if information came from a table in an article in a National Geographic magazine, you would cite the entire article.

If you are only making a passing reference to a well known image, you would not have to cite it, e.g. describing someone as having a Mona Lisa smile.

Title

Images may not have a set title. If this is the case give a description of the image [in square brackets] where you would normally put the title.

Author

If the author of an image is unknown, begin the citation with the image title, or with a description of the image in square brackets if it is untitled

Creator's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication, Month Day if Given).Title of image [Type of image]. Name of Website. URL 

Note: Include the type of image (e.g. photograph, painting, infographic, clip art) in square brackets after the image title. 

Creator's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication, Month Day if Given).[Image description]. Name of Website. URL 

Note: If an image has no title, instead include a brief description of the type of image (e.g. photograph, drawing, infographic, clip art) and its contents in square brackets. 

Reproducing happens when you copy or recreate an image, table, graph or chart that is not your original creation. If you reproduce one of these works in your assignment, you must include a figure number and a title above the image, chart, table or graph, and a note below the image, chart, table or graph with a copyright attribution. 

Figure Numbers

Each image you reproduce in your paper should be assigned a figure number, starting with number 1 for the first image used in the assignment. The figure number should be above the image, and should be followed by an image title. 

If you are reproducing images in a PowerPoint presentation, figure numbers and image titles are not required.

Copyright Attributions

If you reproduce an image in an assignment, you must include a copyright attribution for that image. A copyright attribution is similar to a citation, but in a different order: title, author, date, site name, URL, followed by the name of the Creative Commons license (if applicable). It takes the place of an in-text citation, and no references list entry is required for a reproduced image.

Certain stock images and clip art are licensed for use with no attribution required. This is the case for the clip art in Microsoft Office software such as Word and PowerPoint. These images can be reproduced without a copyright attribution or a citation; however, if the image is reproduced in an essay or report a figure number and image title are still required. 

If you are not sure about an image's copyright status, contact the copyright holder for permission before using the image.

Example

Figure 1

Lava the sled dog

Note. From Lava [Photograph], by Denali National Park and Preserve, 2013, Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/denalinps/8639280606/). CC BY 2.0.

According to APA 7th Edition, clip art images from Microsoft programs such as Word and Microsoft PowerPoint do not need a citation, as the licenses for these programs allow for their images to be used in academic assignments with no attribution required.

However, clip art found online may require a copyright attribution and/or a citation. Check the copyright status of the image to determine this (copyright status is usually determined by a copyright symbol or the word "copyright" followed by information, and is typically found beneath an image). If a citation is required, see examples for Image from a Website - With a Title or Image from a Website - Untitled, above.