Images, figures, tables, graphs, and other visual works can provide helpful evidence and reinforcement to your research, but as with other resources, content and ideas must be credited.
When reproducing images, be aware of copyright and licensing restrictions. Images can be found in journal articles, books, web pages, or online image collections like Flickr. Not all images are freely available and might be subject to copyright restrictions.
When reproducing (inserting/pasting) an image, make sure you understand copyright.
You can read more about this on the CDU Referencing Guide: Copyright and Images page.
✓ Generally Allowed: Using copyrighted images for study purposes (e.g., in an assignment) with proper attribution and reference.
✘ Generally Not Allowed: Publishing work (e.g., a poster created for an assignment used in your workplace) would breach copyright. UNLESS copyright permission is attained from the owner.
Please note: If your thesis is publicly available, you may need permission for copyrighted images.
There are three main ways of referencing visual works based on use and source location:
You can cite an image from an online collection without reproducing it. When you refer to a visual work in text but do not insert/paste the visual work, you would use a citation and reference only.
From an online collection
| In the photo Autumn Ivy (Curtin University Library 2007) … |
|
Curtin University Library 2007, Autumn ivy, image, https://www.flickr.com/photos/curtinuniversitylibrary /1440410713 |
From within a source
| Author (date) or (Author date) |
|
Referenced as per source type, i.e. book, journal article, website… |
‘Reproducing’ an image means inserting or pasting it into your work as a visual work. When you reproduce a visual work, you must include a caption acknowledgment beneath it.
Here is an example of an image reproduced in a report:
|
Climate change has led to a significant rise in ocean temperatures, one of the primary causes of coral bleaching. The image below illustrates the stark difference between a healthy coral reef and a bleached reef affected by rising sea temperatures. Figure 1
From What is coral bleaching, Great Barrier Reef Foundation 2024, https://www.barrierreef.org/news/explainers/what-is-coral-bleaching As seen in Figure 1, healthy corals maintain their vibrant colours while corals exposed to prolonged heat stress have a stark white appearance. This colour change occurs because heat-stressed corals expel their symbiotic algae, known as zooxanthellae, which provide them with essential nutrients and pigmentation (Jones et al. 2022). |
Caption (placed below the visual work)
| From Title of image by A Author Year, Publisher, URL, Licence e.g. CC BY 2.0. |
Reference List Entry
| Author, AA Year, Title of image, Publisher, URL |
|
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From Sustainable transport by A Wellings 2012, Flickr, https://flic.kr/p/cpBHSJ, CC BY-NC 2.0 |
If the image has a long title, use the first few words of the title in the in-text citation. |
| Wellings (2012) captured this photo in the… | |
| Wellings, A 2012, Sustainable transport, Flickr, https://flic.kr/p/cpBHSJ | |
| Include the full title of the image in the reference. Use sentence case capitalisation in the reference list entry. |
|
The photo of a brown bear is by R Svinding 2006, Pexels, https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-bear-35435/, CC0. |
When you do not have a title, provide a brief description of the image in the caption. |
| (Svinding 2006) | |
| Svinding, R 2006, [Brown bear], Pexels, https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-bear-35435/ | |
| Add the brief description of the photo in square brackets. |
|
From Schematic diagram of the human eye, by Rhcastilhos 2007, Wiki Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schematic _diagram_of_the_human_eye_en.svg, In the public domain. |
Cite images in the public domain/with a CC0 Licence even if no attribution is required. If it is a clipart with no attribution details, please add a visual description in the caption. |
| …to avoid issues (Rhcastilhos 2007). | |
| Rhcastilhos 2007, Schematic diagram of the human eye, Wiki Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Schematic_diagram_of_the_human_eye_en.svg | |
| Give the author’s name exactly as it appears on the source page of the image. |
Caption (placed below the visual work)
| From Title of Resource by Author Year, DOI/URL (if required) |
Reference List Entry
| Reference as source type i.e. book, journal article, website… |
|
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From ‘Value creation and value capture alignment in business model innovation: A process view on outcome-based business models,’ by D Sjodin, V Parida, M Jovanovic and I Visnjic 2020, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 37(2):162, Copyright 2020 by Wiley. |
Sjodin et al. (2017) or …as seen in the graph (Sjodin et al. 2017) |
| Sjodin, D, Parida, V, Jovanovic M & Visnjic, I 2020, ‘Value creation and value capture alignment in business model innovation: A process view on outcome-based business models’, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 37(2):158-183 |
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From Plant anatomy: Images and diagrams to explain concepts, by S Bellairs 2018, Charles Darwin University, p. 6, CC BY-SA 4.0. |
As depicted by Bellairs (2018) … or (Bellairs 2018) |
| Bellairs, SM 2018 Plant anatomy: Images and diagrams to explain concepts, Charles Darwin University. |
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From Testimonials, by S Sammartino 2018, https://stevesammartino.com/testimonials/ |
When copyright holder is NOT identified. |
|
Sammartino (2018) |
|
| Sammartino, S 2018, Testimonials, https://stevesammartino.com/testimonials |
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From Too much information: The COVID work revolution has increased digital overload, by O Kokshagina 2021, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/too-much-information-the-covid-work-revolution-has-increased-digital-overload-153293, Copyright n.d. by Shutterstock. |
When copyright holder is identified add: Copyright year by ‘copyright holder name’. |
| (Kokshagina, 2021). | |
| Kokshagina, O 2021, Too much information: The COVID work revolution has increased digital overload, The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/too-much-information-the-covid-work-revolution-has-increased-digital-overload-153293 |
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From Vaping products aren’t regulated so it’s difficult to know exactly what they contain, by Lung Foundation Australia, 2023, Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/p/CoWiY0IsDIm |
When the visual work has a text caption for the title. |
| Lung Foundation Australia (2023) | |
| Lung Foundation Australia 2023, Vaping products aren’t regulated so it’s difficult to know exactly what they contain, 7 February, Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/p/CoWiY0IsDIm/ |
|
The post about building a supply chain with regenerative cotton is by Eileen Fisher 2023, Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/EILEENFISHERNY /photos/pcb.6514400038593267/6514399861926618/ |
When the visual work does not have text for a title. |
| …as identified by Eileen Fisher (2023). | |
| Eileen Fisher 2023, [Building a supply chain with regenerative cotton], 13 April, Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/EILEENFISHERNY/ photos/pcb.6514400038593267/ 6514399861926618/ |
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From SUS139 - Module Two: Sustainable Urban Design, PowerPoint slides, by J Doe 2025, Charles Darwin University |
If the image was taken from another source (i.e. not your lecturer’s creation), cite the original source instead. |
| …as seen in the diagram by Doe (2025)… | |
| Doe, J 2025, SUS139 – Module two: Sustainable urban design, PowerPoint slides, Charles Darwin University. |
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From DALL-E (version 2), large text-to-image model, by OpenAI 2023, https://labs.openai.com/ |
Even if the tool states no attribution is needed, caption and reference all visual works to prevent plagiarism. |
| OpenAI (2023) | |
| OpenAI 2023, DALL-E (version 2), large text-to-image model, https://labs.openai.com/ |
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