Proper citation is still a must to maintain academic integrity, even though the images may have been found in the public domain or the Creative Commons. This guide will provide tips for handling images found online. For actual works of art, or photo collections displayed in museums/galleries and printed in books, please consult your respective style guide for details. Please also consult your citation style guides for more detailed explanations if the examples listed below do not answer all your questions.
Incorporating Images in Your Paper (5.20 - 5.30)
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association requires that images be labeled as “Figures” and should be placed close to the text that refers to it. Each figure should be numbered consecutively with a brief but descriptive caption. Image source and copyright information should follow the descriptive caption. If applicable, include the “permission to reprint” statement.
In-text Citation Example
The Chinese character for mother, pronounced ma, is an example of a phono-semantic character. As illustrated in Figure 1, the character contains two parts. The semantic indicator 女 (nu) on the left side, in red, means “woman.” The phonetic indicator 馬 (ma) on the right, shown in black, means “horse” when used as a stand-alone character.
Figure 1. The Chinese character for mother is comprised of a semantic indicator in red and a phonetic indicator in black. From “Radical (Chinese Characters),” by Asoer, 2010 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_%28Chinese_characters%29#/media/File:%E5%AA%BD%E9%83%A8%E9%A6%96.svg). In the public domain.
For more examples on writing figure captions/descriptions and copyright statements, see APA Style blog page Navigating Copyright for Reproduced Images: Part 4. Writing the Copyright Statement.
Reference List General Format
Creator's last name, first initial. (Year of creation). Image title (in italics) or description of image. [Type of work]. Retrieved from: URL/database
Reference List Example
Asoer. (2010). 媽 with the section header 女 in red. [Digital image]. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_%28Chinese_characters%29#/media/File:%E5%AA%BD%E9%83%A8%E9%A6%96.svg
Other Reference List Examples
Chermayeff, I. (Graphic designer). (1983). Winston Churchill: The wilderness years.[Image of graphic design]. Retrieved from JSTOR
Kubo, S. (Painter). (1795). Court woman at her desk with poem cards. [Image of painting]. Retrieved from https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/77877
NASA. (2016). Early ice breakup of Beaufort Sea due to early warm temperature. [Digital Image]. Retrieved from https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/early-ice-breakup-of-beaufort-sea-due-to-early-warm-temperatures
Incorporating Images in Your Paper (26.3.2)
For Chicago/Turabian citation style, any images, including charts, graphs, maps, photographs, diagrams and digital images, are labeled as figures and are numbered consecutively, followed by captions. Place the figure as closely to the text referring to it as possible. Use the figure number in the text when referring to the image instead of stating where the image is positioned in the paper (“above” or “below”).
Example
Figure 1 shows a phono-semantic character.
NOT
Figure below shows phono-semantic character.
Include access date and the URL where the image is retrieved.
Figure 1. The Chinese character for mother is comprised of a semantic indicator in red and a phonetic indicator in black. Image by Asoer. accessed April 15, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_%28Chinese_characters%29#/media/File:%E5%AA%BD%E9%83%A8%E9%A6%96.svg
General Rules for Footnotes (17.8.1)
Visual sources such as paintings, photographs and online images are only cited in notes, and not in the bibliography. Cite images in the footnote section using descriptions or italicized image titles; include image URL and access date. Alternatively, images can be cited by weaving the information into the text. Use parentheses if necessary to include necessary information.
General Format for Footnotes
1.First name Last name of Creator, Title of Work (in italics), date of its creation (preceded by ca. [circa] if approximate), the name of the institution that houses it (if applicable), the location of the institution, access date (Month Day, Year), name of database or image URL.
Example
媽 with the section header 女 in red, shows a phono-semantic character1. The character contains two parts. The semantic indicator 女 (nu) on the left side, in red, means “woman.” The phonetic indicator 馬 (ma) on the right, shown in black, means “horse” when used as a stand-alone character.
1Asoer, 媽 with the section header 女 , (2010), accessed April 15, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_%28Chinese_characters%29#/media/File:%E5%AA%BD%E9%83%A8%E9%A6%96.svg
Other Footnote Examples
1Ivan Cermayeff, Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, 1983, Museum of Modern Art, New York, accessed April 15, 2016, JSTOR.
2NASA. Early Ice Breakup of Beaufort Sea Due to Early Warm Temperature, accessed April 15, 2016,
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/early-ice-breakup-of-beaufort-sea-due-to-early-warm-temperatures
3Shuman Kubo, Court Woman at Her Desk with Poem Cards, 1795, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accessed April 15, 2016, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/77877
Incorporating images in your paper (4.5)
In an MLA-style research paper, images are labeled “Figure” and usually shortened to “Fig.” Each figure should be numbered consecutively and placed as close to the relevant text as possible. A figure should be accompanied by a caption directly below the image.
In-text Citation Example
The Chinese character for mother, pronounced ma, is an example of a phono-semantic character. As illustrated in Figure 1, the character contains two parts. The semantic indicator 女 (nu) on the left side, shown below in red, means “woman.” The phonetic indicator 馬 (ma) on the right, shown in black, means “horse” when used as a stand-alone character.
Fig.1 Asoer, "媽 with the Section Header 女 in Red," Wikimedia Commons. 2 Sept. 2010, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_%28Chinese_characters%29#/media/File:%E5%AA%BD%E9%83%A8%E9%A6%96.svg
General Format for Works Cited List
Creator’s last name, first name (Author). Image title or Image description (Title of source). Date created (Day Month (abbreviated) Year). The institution and city where the work is physically located. Title of the website/database/institution (Title of container), URL (Location), Date of access (if applicable).
Works Cited List Example
Asoer, 媽 with the Section Header 女 in Red. 2 Sept. 2010. Wikimedia Commons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_%28Chinese_characters%29#/media/File:%E5%AA%BD%E9%83%A8%E9%A6%96.svg
Other Works Cited List Examples:
Chermayeff, Ivan. Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years. 1983. Museum of Modern Art, New York, JSTOR,
library.jstor.org/library/iv2.html?parent=true.
Kubo, Shuman. Court Woman at Her Desk with Poem Cards. 1795. The Met, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/77877.
NASA. Early Ice Breakup of Beaufort Sea Due to Early Warm Temperature. 13 Apr. 2016. NASA Image of the Day, www.nasa.gov/image-feature/early-ice-breakup-of-beaufort-sea-due-to-early-warm-temperatures.