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APA Referencing: Figures, graphs and images

Acknowledgement

Thank you to:

AUT University New Zealand

 

 

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Figures and Tables

A figure may be a chart, a graph, a photograph, a drawing, or any other illustration or nontextual depiction. Any type of illustration or image other than a table is referred to as a figure.

 

Figure Components

  • Number: The figure number (e.g., Figure 1) appears above the figure in bold (no period finishing).
  • Title: The figure title appears one double-spaced line below the figure number in Italic Title Case (no period finishing).
  • Image: The image portion of the figure is the chart, graph, photograph, drawing, or illustration itself.
  • Legend: A figure legend, or key, if present, should be positioned within the borders of the figure and explain any symbols used in the figure image.
  • Note: A note may appear below the figure to describe contents of the figure that cannot be understood from the figure title, image, and/or legend alone (e.g., definitions of abbreviations, copyright attribution). Not all figures include notes. Notes are flush left, non-italicised. If present they begin with Note. (italicised, period ending). The notes area will include reference information if not an original figure, and copyright information as required.

 

General rules

  • In the text, refer to every figure by its number, no italics, but with a capital "F" for "Figure". For example, "As shown in Figure 1, ..." 
  • There are two options for the placement of figures in a paper. The first option is to place all figures on separate pages after the reference list. The second option is to embed each figure within the text.
  • If you reproduce or adapt a figure from another source (e.g., an image you found on the internet), you should include a copyright attribution in the figure note, indicating the origin of the reproduced or adapted material, in addition to a reference list entry for the work. Include a permission statement (Reprinted or Adapted with permission) only if you have sought and obtained permission to reproduce or adapt material in your figure. A permission statement is not required for material in the public domain or openly licensed material.

Ref: Reproduced with permission from the AUT Library

What if I created the table or figure from my own work?

All figures and tables included in your assessments are presumed to be your own work unless you state otherwise. As personal images and data are not retrievable, they do not require a full citation and copyright statement nor an entry in your reference list.

Table components

Table  Components:

  • Number: The table number (e.g. Table 1) appears above the table in bold (no italics, no period ending)
  • Title: The table title appears one double-spaced line below the table number, using non-bolded Italic Title Case (no period ending)
  • Headings: All tables should include column headings, including  a heading for the leftmost column (stub heading)
  • Body:  The table body includes all the rows and columns of a table.  The body may be single space, one and a half spaced, or double spaced, which ever is clearer. Limit the use of borders or lines in a table to those needed for clarity. Do not use vertical borders to separate data (see APA Manual, s. 7.17, pp. 205-206 for more details)
  • Note: A note can appear below the table to describe the contents of the table  that cannot be understood from the table title or body alone, (e.g. definitions of abbreviations, copyright attribution). Notes are double-spaced and flush left. Not all tables include table notes

General rules:

  • In the text, refer to every table by its number. For example, "As shown in Table 1, ..." (no italics, capital "T" for "Table")
  • There are two options for the placement of tables in a paper. The first option is to place all tables on separate pages after the reference list. The second option is to embed each table within the text
  • If you reprint or adapt a table from another source in your paper (e.g. a table from a published work), you must include a copyright attribution in the table note indicating the origin of the reprinted or adapted material in addition to a reference list entry for the work
  • Important notes: When reproducing or adapting copyrighted tables/data sets in your thesis or dissertation or other publications - you must get permission from the copyright holder/s for using the material in your thesis or dissertation or other publications. You may not need permission when a reprinted or adapted figure is obtained from the public domain. Works used Creative Commons licences should be cited accordingly. 

Check  the APA Style website for an illustration of the basic table  component and placement of tables in a text

Ref: Reproduced with permission from the AUT Library

From a book

Figure reproduced in your text

Note format - for notes below the figure

Note. Explanations to supplement or clarify information in the image. From [or Adapted from] Book Title (page number), by First Initial. Second Initial. Author Surname, Year, Publisher. Copyright Year by Name of Copyright Holder [or In the public domain or Creative Commons license abbreviation]. Reprinted with permission. [or Adapted with permission.] if permission is sought and obtained.

Example:

Figure example

In-text citation:

This is clearly indicated in Figure 1,...

Reference list entry:

Rasmussen, E. J. (2009). Employment relations in New Zealand (2nd ed.). Pearson.

 

Referring to a figure in a book

If you refer to a figure included in a book but do not include it in your text, format the in-text citation and the reference list entry in the usual way, citing the page number where the figure appears.

In-text citation:

... interpretations of the portrait Mona Lisa (Gombrich 1995, p. 203).

Reference list entry:

Gombrich, E. H. (1995). The story of art (16th ed.). Phaidon.

 

Reproduced with permission from the AUT Library 

Table from an article

Figure reproduced in your text

Note format - for notes below the figure

Note. Explanations to supplement or clarify information in the image. From [or Adapted from] “Title of Article,” by First Initial. Second Initial. Author Surname, Year, Journal Title, Volume(Issue), page number (url or doi if from an ejournal). Copyright Year by Name of Copyright Holder [or In the public domain or Creative Commons license abbreviation]. Reprinted with permission. [or Adapted with permission.] if permission is sought and obtained.

Example:

Figure example

In-text citation:

As shown in Figure 2, there are five groups of factors that influence...

Reference list entry:

Jahan, N., & Rahman, S. (2016). Factors that obstruct tourism development in Bangladesh. CLEAR International Journal of Research in Commerce & Management, 7(9), 48–55.

 

Referring to a figure in an article

If you refer to a figure in an article but do not include it in your text, format the in-text citation and the reference list entry in the usual way for an article, citing the page number where the figure appears.

In-text citation:

... in the installation Talking about the Weather (Randerson, 2007, p. 446) ...

Reference list entry:

Randerson, J. (2007). Between reason and sensation: Antipodean artists and climate change. Leonardo, 40(5), 442–448. https://doi.org/10.1162/leon.2007.40.5.442

 

Reproduced with permission from the AUT Library 

From a library database

Figure reproduced in your text

Note format - for notes below the figure

Note. Explanations to supplement or clarify information in the image. Title of the database. Copyright year by the Name of Copyright Holder.

Examples:

               

 

                        

 

In-text citation:

As Figure 1 shows, sales of meat pies ...

As shown in Figure 2, ...

Reference list:

EconData. (2019). Hong Kong: visitor arrivals Jan 1996–Jul 2019 [Graph]. EMED Emerging Asia database.

The Nielsen Company. (2011). The market location and dollar sales of meat pies in New Zealand, March 2009–March 2011 [Graph]. Nielsen Market Information Digest New Zealand.

 

Reproduced with permission from the AUT Library

From a website

Figure reproduced in your text

Note format - for notes below the figure

Note. Explanations to supplement or clarify information in the image. From Title of Webpage, by First Initial. Second Initial. Author Surname [or Group Author], Year, Site Name [omit if same as Group Author] (url). Copyright Year by Name of Copyright Holder [or In the public domain or Creative Commons license abbreviation]. Reprinted with permission. [or Adapted with permission.] if permission is sought and obtained.

Example:

           

In-text citation:

As shown in Figure 5, ...

Reference list:

Department of Conservation. (n.d.). Sirocco the kākāpō conservation superstar. https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature_kakapo/sirocco

 

Referring to a figure on a webpage

If you refer to a figure on a webpage and do not include it in your text, format the in-text citation and the reference list entry in the usual way for a webpage,

Not every reference to an artwork needs a reference list entry. For example, if you refer to a famous painting, as below, it would not need a reference.

In-text citation:

... facial expression reminiscent of Munch’s The Scream.

 

Finding image details for your figure caption or reference

  • Many images found online have few details, but always check for extra information by:
    • clicking on or hovering your mouse over the image
    • looking at the bottom of the image
    • looking at the URL
  • If there is no title, create a short descriptive one yourself and put it in square brackets e.g. [...]

Reproduced with permission from the AUT Library

Citing your own work

If it has been formally published reference your work as you would any other published work.

If the work is available on a website reference it as a webpage (see examples in the webpage section).

Citing your own figures, graphs or images in an assignment:

  • Include the title
  • Add a note explaining the content. No copyright attribution is required.
  • You can, if you wish, add a statement that it is your own work
  • You do not need an in-text citation or add it to your reference list
  • See example in APA manual p.247, Figure 7.17 Sample photograph

Example:

Figure 1

Great Barrier Island 

Note. Photo of Great Barrier Island taken from Orewa at sunrise. Own work.

Reproduced with permission from the AUT Library