Subject guides: CDU Harvard Referencing: Visual works (images, figures, tables...)

Ask us at the Library

08 8946 7016

+61 4 8885 0811 (text only)

askthelibrary@cdu.edu.au

Images, figures, tables, graphs, and other visual works can provide useful 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 licencing restrictions. Images can be found in journal articles, books, on web pages or in online image collections like Flickr. Not all images are freely available to use and might be subject to copyright restrictions.

Allowed	Not Allowed
Use copyrighted images for study purposes (e.g., in an assignment) with relevant attribution and reference.	Publishing work (e.g., poster created for assignment used in your workplace) as this would breach copyright. UNLESS copyright permission is attained from owner.

If referencing images, when do you use...

in-text citation?	a caption?	a reference list entry?
Use an in-text citation when you have referred to the image in your writing.	Use a caption when you have reproduced (inserted) the image in your work.	Always include a reference list entry for a visual work you are using in your work.

There are two styles of referencing for visual works in this guide.

1. Referencing a visual work from an online collection. ‘Image collections’ refers to image sites such as Google images, Pixabay, Flickr, PxHere, Pexels, Wikimedia Commons, etc.

2. Referencing a visual work which is a part of a resource e.g., in a report, on a website, etc

Visual work from an online collection

Caption format

From Title of image by A Author Year, Publisher, URL, Licence e.g. CC BY 2.0.

Important

Place the attribution directly beneath the image as a caption
It is acceptable to resize the caption to a smaller font if it is too long
If you created the image and published it (e.g., on Facebook) use this format
If unpublished, cite visual work as personal communication
In-text citation (if referring to the image in your text): (Author, Year)

From Sustainable transport by A Wellings 2012, Flickr, https://flic.kr/p/cpBHSJ, CC BY-NC 2.0

Reference List:

Wellings, A 2012, Sustainable transport, Flickr, https://flic.kr/p/cpBHSJ

From Friendly male koala by Quartl 2009, Wiki Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Friendly_Male_Koala.JPG

Reference List:

Quartl 2009, Friendly male koala, Wiki Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Friendly_Male_Koala.JPG

Note:

If the image has a long title, use only the first few words of the title in the in-text citation.

The photo of a brown bear is by Rasmus Svinding 2006, Pexels, https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-bear-35435/, CC0

Reference List:

Svinding, R 2006, [Brown bear], Pexels, https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-bear-35435/

Note:

In the caption, provide a brief description of the image where the title would be.
In the reference list, enclose the description 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

Reference List:

Rhcastilhos 2007, Schematic diagram of the human eye, Wiki Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schematic_diagram_of_the_human_eye_en.svg

Note:

Cite images that are in the public domain or have 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.

Visual work from a resource

Caption format

From Title of Resource, by Author, Year, (DOI/URL).

Important

If it is not discernible that the image is licenced under Creative Commons or is in the public domain, assume that the image is under copyright.
If no copyright holder is mentioned with the image (esp. images on web pages), omit ‘Copyright year by author’ (see referencing examples below)

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.

Reference List:

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.

Reference List:

Mahashwari, A 2015, Business intelligence and data mining, Business Expert Press.

From Testimonials, by S Sammartino 2018, https://stevesammartino.com/testimonials/

Reference List:

Sammartino, S 2018, Testimonials, https://stevesammartino.com/testimonials/

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.

Reference List:

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

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/

Reference List:

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/

Reference List:

Eileen Fisher 2023, [Building a supply chain with regenerative cotton], 13 April, Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/EILEENFISHERNY/photos/pcb.6514400038593267/6514399861926618/

From DALL-E (version 2), large text-to-image model, by OpenAI 2023, https://labs.openai.com/

Reference list

OpenAI 2023, DALL-E (version 2), large text-to-image model, https://labs.openai.com/