how to reference a picture in a dissertation

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Documenting and Citing Images/Photographs and Their Sources

Please note that this is advice on best practices and considerations in documenting and citing images and non-print materials. It does not represent legal advice on obtaining permissions.

Generally, images copied from other sources should not be used without permissions in publications or for commercial purposes. Many American academic institutions require graduate students to archive their finished and approved theses/dissertations in institutional electronic repositories and/or institutional libraries and repositories, and/or to post them on Proquest's theses database. Unpublished theses and dissertations are a form of scholarly dissemination. Someone else's images, like someone else's ideas, words or music, should be used with critical commentary, and need to be identified and cited. If a thesis/dissertation is revised for publication,  waivers or permissions from the copyright holder(s) of the images and non-textual materials must be obtained. Best practices also apply to materials found on the internet and on social media, and, properly speaking, require identification, citation, and clearance of permissions, as relevant.

Use the following elements when identifying and citing an image, depending on the information you have available . It is your responsibility to do due diligence and document as much as possible about the image you are using:

• Artist's/creator's name, if relevant;
• Title of the work/image, if known, or description;
• Ownership information (such as a person, estate, museum, library collection) and source of image;
• Material, if known, particularly for art works;
• Dimensions of the work, if known.

The Chicago Manual of Style online can be searched for norms on appropriate ways to caption illustrations, capitalize titles of visual works, or cite print materials that contain images.

Including images/photographs in a bibliography:

Best practice is to not include images within a bibliography of works cited. It is common, instead, to create a separate list of images (or figures) and their source, such as photographer (even if it's you) or collection. It may be useful to also include location, e.g., museum, geographic reference, address, etc.

Examples of Documenting Images

The image below is scanned from a published book. It can be used in a critical context within a presentation, classroom session, or  paper/thesis, as follows:

[ Figure 1. This photograph from 1990 shows the Monument against Fascism designed by Jochen Gerz and Esther Shalev-Gerz, Hamburg, 1986-1993. Image from James Young, ed.,  Art of Memory: Holocaust Memorials in History (New York: Prestel, 1994), 70]

If you need to use this image in a published work, you will have to seek permission. For example, the book from which this image was scanned should have a section on photo credits which would help you identify the person/archive holding this image.

The image below was found through Google Images and downloaded from the internet. It can be used in a critical context within a presentation,  classroom session, or paper/thesis, as follows:

[Figure 2. This image shows the interior of Bibliotheca Alexandrina designed by the Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta in 2001. Image downloaded from https://mgkhs.com/gallery/alexandria in March 2016.]

If you want to use this image in a published work, you will have to do your best to track down its source to request permission to use. The web site or social media site where you found the image may not be an appropriate source, since it is common for people to repost images without attribution. Just because "everyone does it" does not mean that you should be using such materials without attribution or documentation. In this specific example, you may need to write to the photographer or to the architecture firm. If you have done due diligence and were unable to find the source, or have not received a response, you may be able to use an image found on the internet with appropriate documentation in a publication.

The image below was downloaded from a digitized historic collection of photographs held by an institutional archive. It can be used in a critical context within a presentation,  classroom session, or paper/thesis, as follows:

[Figure 3. In the 1920s the urban landscape of Los Angeles started to change, as various developers began building multi-family apartment houses in sections previously zoned for single family dwellings. Seen in this photograph by Dick Whittington is the Warrington apartment building, which was completed in 1928, surrounded by older single family structures. Downloaded from the USC Digital Library in February 2016]

I f you plan to use this photograph in a publication, seek permission from the library/institution from whose digital archive you downloaded the image. Contact information is usually found in the record for the image.

The image below was taken by the author. It can be used in a critical context within a presentation, classroom session , paper/thesis, or a publication* as follows:

[Figure 4. Genex Tower, also known as West City Gate, is a residential tower located in New Belgrade. This example of late 20th century brutalist-style architecture was designed in 1977 by Mihajlo Mitrović. Photographed by the author in 2013.]

*Please note, if you re-photographed someone else's photograph or a work of art, or if you re-photographed a published image, you may not be able to publish your photograph without first seeking permission or credit for its content.  If you have done due diligence and were unable to find the source or have not received a response, you may be able to use your image with appropriate documentation.

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Theses and Dissertations Guide: Citing Images

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This page will help you cite images. Be sure to keep track of the basic information needed for citing images:

Creator name(s)

Title of work

Creation date

Materials and dimensions

Location of work (museum, repository, collection, et cetera)

If you found the image in a book or periodical, you will need to cite the book's or magazine's information.  See book and magazine examples on the libraries' Citing Sources guide .

If you found the image on the web or in an online database, you will need to include the database name and URL.

Your instructor may require you to use a specific style manual; consult the manual for the proper format of your citation.

• The Chicago Manual of Style
• MLA Handbook
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA)
• A manual for writers of term papers, theses, and dissertations (Turabian)

Some examples:

Chicago Style bibliography citation, work of art:

Chihuly, Dale.  Olive Macchia with Cadmium Yellow Lip Wrap.  1992. Blown glass and gold leaf, 19" high. Dayton Art Institute, Dayton.

Chicago Style bibliography citation, from an image database:

Monet, Claude. View of the Sea at Sunset.  1870-74. Pastel on paper, 6 x 15 3/4" (15.3 x 40 cm). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Artstor. https://library.artstor.org/#/asset/AMICO_BOSTON_103833759

MLA Style citation, work of art:

Chihuly, Dale. Olive Macchia with Cadmium Yellow Lip Wrap . 1992, Dayton Art Institute, Dayton.

MLA Style citation, from an image database:

Monet, Claude. View of the Sea at Sunset . 1870-74. Artstor,  https://library.artstor.org/#/asset/AMICO_BOSTON_103833759

MLA Style citation, image found in book:

Louis, Morris. Saraband . 1959. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Art Since 1900 . By Hal Foster, Rosalind Krauss, Yve-Alain Bois, and Benjamin H.D. Buchloh. New York : Thames & Hudson Inc., 2004. 440. Painting.

APA Style citation, work of art:

Chihuly, D. (1992). Olive macchia with cadmium lip wrap [Glasswork]. Dayton Art Institute,  Dayton, OH, United States.

APA Style citation, from an image database:

Monet, C. (1870-74). View of the Sea at Sunset [Painting]. Retrieved from https://library.artstor.org/#/asset/AMICO_BOSTON_103833759

Turabian citation (in note), work of art:

1. Dale Chilhuly, Olive Macchia with Cadmium Lip Wrap , blown glass and gold leaf, 1992, Dayton Art Institute, Dayton.

Turabian citation (in note), from an image database:

1. Claude Monet, View of the Sea at Sunset (1870-1874). Artstor. JPEG file. www.artstor.org, image ID AMICO_BOSTON_103834117 (accessed 1 September 2009).

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Images in Theses and Dissertations

Images used often add to an authors critique or discussion, while offering a visual to help their argument.  If you use an image in your thesis or dissertation, you must cite it.  Before Theses/ dissertations were born digital, they were printed and added to the library of an institution for preservation and add to the collective scholarly community.  When using images, you will need to include commentary on it.  Images should add to one's discussion/ argument.  Fair Use of copyrighted work in print form, generally, was easy to determine for educational purposes.  However, this is not always the case with digital forms which reach a wider audience, because "images can be reproduced easily, users may copy and paste images repeatedly without realizing they are committing copyright infringement (Kennedy, 2015)."

If under copyright protection, as a best practice, you should gain permission to use it especially if you plan to publish your work later.  You must give credit where credit is due, even if it is your own work from a previous publication or class work. Images include, but are not limited to, drawings, paintings, photographs, tables, graphs, and charts.   Images fall into several categories: public domain, fair use, Creative Commons (CC), or used with permission.  If an image is under a CC license, pay close attention to the allowances set up by the creator.

For copyrighted works you will need to contact the person, publisher, or other entities who hold the rights to it.  Publishers may have a form you need to fill out for the request.  Artists generally have a personal website in which an email is provided or a contact form.  When a form is not already available for a request to reproduce you will need to include as much information as you can in your request.  

• What image(s) you want to use.
• If you do plan on publishing your work later, include that too.  This will help you in going through the publishing process in the future.
• Include the thesis/ dissertation will be published electronically and included in the Mississippi State University Institutional Repository.

Keep in mind, you may have to pay a fee to use the image(s) if it is under copyright.

Further Reading:

Standards and Guidelines by the College Art Association

Statement on The Fair Use of Images for Teaching, Research, and Studying by the Visual Resource Association

ProQuest: Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis: Ownership, Fair Use, and Your Rights and Responsibilities

ProQuest: Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis   (Includes request sample letter)

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Photographs and Images: Using Images in Theses and Dissertations

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Using Images in Theses and Dissertations

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Historically, images were reproduced in dissertations and theses without obtaining permissions from the copyright holders. Because of the clearly academic, non-commercial nature of theses and dissertations, and because access to theses and dissertations was typically confined to an academic, library setting, there seemed to be little dispute that the incorporation of such images into these or dissertations was a fair use.

As theses and dissertations began to be posted to online repositories, the publishers of those repositories sometime required that graduate students posting theses to their repositories obtain copyright permissions for images. While UNM's Digital Respository   does not have an institutional policy on the use of images in theses and dissertations, the  UNM Office of Graduate Studies  stipulates that students should obtain copyright.

The Office of Graduate Studies at UNM offers the following guidelines:  

Registering Your Copyright

Registering your copyright in your thesis or dissertation is optional. Under current United States copyright Law, the moment you reduce a work to a tangible medium (i.e., write it on paper, save on hard drive or other storage device, take the photograph, record the music, etc.) your thesis or dissertation is copyrighted. This applies to unpublished manuscripts as well. There is no longer the need to register your work for copyright to attach. Furthermore, there is no longer the requirement of putting a copyright notice on a work for it to be copyrighted. You may register your copyright either by having ProQuest do so (see above) or on your own by submitting a registration form, which you can pick-up at Zimmerman Library Government Publications or download from US Copyright Office's web page, with a check for thirty five ($35) dollars, and two copies of your thesis or dissertation. Additional information can be obtained by calling 202-287-8700 or going to the web site of the  United States Copyright Office .

Including Copyrighted Material in Your Manuscript

You should remember that if you quote or otherwise reproduce in your thesis or dissertation material previously copyrighted by another author, beyond brief excerpts, you must obtain written permission from the copyright owner. Keep in mind that if a work was created in or after 1989, there is no requirement that it have a copyright notice to be copyrighted This includes foreign works and foreign works for which the copyright has been reinstated pursuant to international treaty.

Copyright law is extremely complex and it can be difficult to determine what action you need to take and where to begin looking for permissions. The Office of Graduate Studies  Publishing  web site contains a great deal of information and has been helpful to students. The Office of Graduate Studies does not provide copyright advisement.

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Citing and referencing: Images / Figures

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Rules for images

1. If you include any images in your document, also include a figure caption. See the "Positioning images in your document" box for more information.

2. If you refer to any visual material, i.e. art, design or architecture, you have seen in person and you are not including an image of it in your document, provide a detailed in-text citation or footnote. See the "Art, design and architecture you have seen in person" box for more information. 

3. If you have sourced an image from the web or a publication:

a) Notes Bibliography style: you need to include the publication information or web address in the footnote. See the "Images from the web" or "Images from books or other published sources" for more information. 

b) Author Date style: you need to include a brief in-text citation AND a full bibliography entry. See the "Images from the web" or "Images from books or other published sources" for more information. 

Positioning images in your document

• Author-Date (Parenthetical citations)

Positioning images in your document 

Figures are any images that you include in your document, i.e. illustrations, diagrams, graphs, photographs, images of artworks and etc. Whenever you include a figure in your document, you also provide a caption. Captions give concise descriptions, explanations, legends, or identify elements—depending on the type of figure. Position a caption below each figure.

Begin each caption with a figure number. And in your text, refer to the particular figure as you introduce it, spell out the word 'figure' if its in your sentence, or abbreviate to 'fig.' if it's written in parenthesis i.e. "in figure 1 you can see..." or (see fig. 1).

You may be the author of a figure in your document or you may have sourced it from elsewhere. If figures aren’t your work, captions can provide reference information, i.e. authors, titles and sources. Some assessments may require you to include a courtesy line acknowledging the name of the source organisation, archive or database, followed by an access date and the web address. 

Example:  In his painting The Banquet of Cleopatra (see fig. 1), Venetian artist Giambattista Tiepolo portrays a famous contest where Cleopatra wins a wager with Mark Antony by dissolving a pearl earring in a glass of vinegar and drinking it.  Tiepolo stage this scene amid columns of the composite order (see fig. 2), which visually underline links to ancient Rome (see fig. 3). 

Figure 1. Giambattista Tiepolo,  The Banquet of Cleopatra , 1743-44, oil on canvas, 250 x 357 cm. Courtesy of the National Gallery of Victoria, accessed 12 March, 2020, https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/4409/.

Figure 2. The composite order, showing a , the entablature and b , the column capital. Courtesy of OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay, accessed 12 March, 2020, https://pixabay.com/vectors/column-capital-composite-antiquity-148231/.

Figure 3. The Arch of Septimius Severus, 203 ce., Roman Forum, Rome. Courtesy of Artstor, accessed 12 March, 2020, https://library-artstor-org.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au.

Example:  In his painting  The Banquet of Cleopatra  (see fig. 1), Venetian artist Giambattista Tiepolo portrays a famous contest where Cleopatra wins a wager with Mark Antony by dissolving a pearl earring in a glass of vinegar and drinking it. Tiepolo stage this scene amid columns of the composite order (see fig. 2), which visually underline links to ancient Rome (see fig. 3). 

Figure 2. The composite order, showing  a , the entablature and  b , the column capital. Courtesy of OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay, accessed 12 March, 2020, https://pixabay.com/vectors/column-capital-composite-antiquity-148231/.

Figure 3. The Arch of Septimius Severus, 203 ce., Roman Forum, Rome. Courtesy of Artstor, accessed 12 March, 2020, https://library-artstor-org.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au.

Art, design and architecture you have seen in person

If you are referring to art, design or architecture and you are not including the image in your document, you only need to provide a detailed footnote.

Include the following information:

• artist or designer
• title of the work
• year of creation of work
• type of materials (optional)
• dimensions of the work (optional)
• location of item, e.g. name of the institution that houses the work, or city the building is in

Footnote     1. Giambattista Tiepolo, The Banquet of Cleopatra , 1743-44, oil on canvas, 250.3 x 357.0 cm, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

If you are referring to the actual artwork and you are not including the image in your document, you only need to provide a detailed in text citation. 

• location of item, e.g. name institution that houses the work,  or city the building is in

Parenthetical (In Text)     (Georgia O'Keeffe, The Cliff Chimneys , 1938, Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin )

Images from the web

• Author-Date (Parenthetical citations)

If you found the image online you will need to include in your footnote:

• title of work
• access date

1. Giambattista Tiepolo, The Banquet of Cleopatra , 1743-44, oil on canvas, 250.3 x 357.0 cm, accessed 24 May, 2012, http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/col/work/4409 .

2. Max Dupain, The Sunbaker , 1937, gelatin silver photograph, 38.0 x 43.1 cm, accessed 24 May, 2012 , http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/col/work/7621 .

If you found the image online you need to include a brief parenthetical (in text) citation and a bibliography entry that includes:

​ Examples:

Parenthetical (In Text)

(Tiepolo 1743-44)

(Dupain 1937)

Bibliography

Tiepolo,  Giambattista. 1743-44.  The Banquet of Cleopatra. Oil on canvas. A ccessed 24 May, 2012.   http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/col/work/4409 .

Dupain, Max. 1937. The Sunbaker . Photograph. A ccessed 24 May, 2012.  http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/col/work/7621 .

Images from books or other published sources

If you found the image in a book or other published source you will need to include in the footnote:

• date of creation of work
• author of book
• title of book
• place of publication
• date of publication
• figure or plate number of the reproduction (optional)

1. Giambattista Tiepolo, The Banquet of Cleopatra , 1743-44, in Ted Gott and Laurie Benson, Painting and Sculpture before 1800 in the International Collections of the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, 2003), 102.

2. Max Dupain, "The Sunbaker", 1937, in Isobel Crombie, Body Culture: Max Dupain, Photography and Australian Culture 1919-1939 (Images Publishing Group in association with National Gallery of Victoria, 2004), 150, 17.1.

If you found the image in a book or other published source you will need to include an in text citation as well as a bibliography entry that includes:

(Georgia O'Keeffe, The Cliff Chimneys , 1938, in Lynes, Poling-Kempes, and Turner 2004, 25)

Lynes, Barbara Buhler, Lesley Poling-Kempes, and Frederick W. Turner. 2004. Georgia O'Keeffe and New Mexico: A sense of place . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Finding and referencing images: Referencing images

• Referencing images
• Finding images and videos

Introduction

In this guide, ' IMAGE ' is used to refer to any visual resource such as a diagram, graph, illustration, design, photograph, or video. They may be found in books, journals, reports, web pages, online video, DVDs and other kinds of media. This guide also refers to ‘ CREATOR ’. This could be an illustrator, photographer, author or organisation.

The examples are presented in Harvard (Bath) style and offer general guidelines on good practice. For essays, project reports, dissertations and theses, ask your School or Department which style they want you to use. Different referencing styles require the use of similar information but will be formatted differently. For more information on other referencing styles, visit our referencing guide .

Using images to illustrate or make clear the description and discussion in your text is useful, but it is important that you give due recognition to the work of other people that you present with your own. This will help to show the value of their work to your assignment and how your ideas fit with a wider body of academic knowledge.

It is just as important to properly cite and reference images as it is the journal articles, books and other information sources that you draw upon. If you do not, you could find yourself accused of plagiarism and/or copyright infringement.

Using images and copyright

For educational assignments it is sufficient to cite and reference any image used. If you publish your work in any way , including posting online, then you will need to follow copyright rules. It is your responsibility to find out whether, and in what ways, you are permitted to use an image in your coursework or publications. Please refer to our copyright guidance and ask for further assistance if you are unsure.

Some images are given limited rights for reuse by their creators. This is likely to be accompanied with a requirement to give recognition to their work and may limit the extent to which it can be modified. The ‘Creative Commons’ copyright licensing scheme offers creators a set of tools for telling people how they wish their work to be used. You can find out more about the different kinds of licence, and what they mean, on the organisation’s web pages .

What is a caption?

Any image that you use should be given a figure number  and a brief description of what it is. Permission for use of an image in a published work should be acknowledged in the figure caption. Some organisations will require the permission statement to be given exactly as they specify. If they are required, permissions need to be stated in addition to the citing and referencing guidance given below.

Referencing images in PowerPoint slides

For a presentation you should include a brief citation under the image. Keep a reference list to hand (e.g. hidden slide) for questions. Making a public presentation or posting it online is publishing your work. You must include your references and observe permission and copyright rules.

Example of a caption

Figure 1. Library book. Reproduced with permission from: Rogers, T., 2015, University of Bath Library

Citing and referencing images

Citing images from a book or journal article.

If you wish to refer to images used in a book or journal, they are cited in the same way as text information , for example:

The functions and flow of genetic information within a plant cell can be visualised as a complex system (Campbell et al., 2015, pp. 282-283).

Campbell et al. (2015, pp. 282-283) have clearly illustrated how a plant cell functions.

If you were to include this example in an essay the caption and citation below the image would look similar to this:

Figure 7. The functions and flow of genetic information within a plant cell (Campbell et al., 2015, pp. 282-283).

The reference at the end of the work would be as recommended for a book reference in our general referencing guide .

For a large piece of work such as a dissertation, thesis or report, a list of figures may be required at the front of the work after the contents page. Check with your department for information on specific requirements of your work.

Google images

When referencing an image found via Google you need to make sure that the information included in your reference relates to the original website that your search has found. Click on the image within the results to get to the original website and take your reference information from there. Take care to use credible sources with good quality information.

Citing and referencing images from a web page

If you use an image from a web page, blog or an online photograph gallery you should reference the individual image . Cite the image creator in the caption and year of publication. The creator may be different from the author of the web page or blog. They may be individual people or an organisation. Figure 2 below gives an example of an image with a corporate author:

List the image reference within your references list at the end of your work, using the format:

NASA, 2015.  NASA astronaut Tim Kopra on Dec. 21 spacewalk [Online]. Washington: NASA. Available from: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/nasa-astronaut-tim-kopra-on-dec-21-spacewalk [Accessed 7 January 2015].

Wikipedia images

If you want to reference an image included in a Wikipedia article, double-click on the image to see all the information needed for your reference. This will open a new page containing information such as creator, image title, date and specific URL. The format should be:

Iliff, D., 2006. Royal Crescent in Bath, England - July 2006  [Online] .  San Francisco: Wikimedia Foundation. Available from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Crescent_in_Bath,_England_-_July_2006.jpg [Accessed 7 January 2016].

Images and designs from exhibitions, museums or archives

If you want to reference an image or design that you have found in an exhibition, museum or archive, then you also need to observe copyright rules and reference the image correctly. The format is:

For example, if you want to reference an old black and white photograph from 1965 that is held in an archive at the University of Bath:

Bristol Region Building Record, 1965. Green Park House (since demolished), viewed from southwest [Photograph]. BRBR, D/877/1. Archives & Research Collections, University of Bath Library.

NB if you were to reproduce this archive image in your work, or any part of it (rather than just cite it), you would also need to note ‘© University of Bath Library’. This copyright note should be added to the image caption along with the citation.

Referencing your own images

If you take a photograph, you do not have to reference it. For sake of clarity you may want to add “Image by author” to the caption. If you create an original illustration or a diagram that you have produced from your own idea then you do not have to cite or reference them. If you generate an image from a graphics package, for example a molecular structure from chemistry drawing software, you do not need to cite the source of the image.

Referencing images that you adapt from elsewhere

If you use someone else’s work for an image then you must give them due credit. If you reproduce it by hand or using graphics software it is the same as if you printed, scanned or photocopied it. You must cite and reference the work as described in this guide. If the image is something that you have created in an earlier assignment or publication you need to reference earlier piece of work to avoid self-plagiarism. If you want to annotate information to improve upon, extend or change an existing image you must cite the original work. However, you would use the phrase ‘adapted from’ in your citation and reference the original work in your reference list.

AI generated images

If you have used an AI tool to generate an image you must acknowledge that tool as a source  (see point 7 of the  academic integrity statement ).

This content is not recoverable; it cannot be linked or retrieved. There is no published source that you can reference directly. Instead you would give an in-text, ‘personal communications’ citation , as described in part 15 of our 'Write a citation' guidance (from the Harvard Bath guide). This type of citation includes the author details followed by (pers. comm.) and the date of the communication.

For example, an image of a shark in a library generated with Craiyon with a ‘personal communications’ citation included in the image caption:

Figure 3. Shark in a library image generated using an AI tool (Craiyon, AI Image Generator (pers. comm.) 14 July 2022). 

Online images and resources for your work

The library has compiled a list of useful audio-visual resources, including images, that can be used for essays or assignments. Visit the ' finding images and videos ' tab of this guide to find out more.

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• Last Updated: Apr 15, 2024 2:32 PM
• URL: https://library.bath.ac.uk/images

CUNY LibAnswers: Graduate Center Dissertation Office

How should i cite images in my thesis or dissertation.

The library's requirements do not specify a specific size or resolution for images, but we do require that images are labeled and numbered as figures in the text. You'll need to create a List of Figures that appears in the preliminary pages, directly following the Table of Contents. The images themselves may be placed within the text or collated together at the end (before the Bibliography/References/Works Cited).

Each image should be captioned with the label and number, and a brief title of the image. If you are reproducing images that you did not take or create yourself, you will need to cite them according to your citation style. This is often referred to as a credit line. For assistance in constructing credit lines for a variety of sources, consult the Chicago Manual of Style 4.102 (17th ed.). If you took the photo or created the image yourself, indicate that in the caption (e.g., "Photo by author").

The MLA provides examples of various figure captions in Chapter 1.7 of the MLA Handbook, 9th edition (free chapter online).

You may wish to also consult the library's guide on citing social media and digital images . If you include a full citation in the caption you do not need to include the source in your Bibliography. You may also choose to simply use an in-text citation in the caption (parenthetical or footnote, depending on your style guide), in which case you would include a full source citation in your Bibliography.

• Last Updated Aug 28, 2023
• Answered By Roxanne Shirazi

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This support page is managed by the Graduate Center Dissertation Office. View our deposit procedures guide for more information.

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• Referencing
• Leeds Harvard referencing examples

Leeds Harvard: Image

Reference examples.

If you refer to an image that you have found in a printed source, eg a book , you must provide a reference for that source. Check with your tutor about the most appropriate way to present images in your work, eg including a list of images in an appendix.

It is not necessary to provide a reference in your bibliography for an image that you have created yourself. Images generated by AI tools must be referenced. See below for an example of how to do this. 

Online image

Family name, INITIAL(S) (of the originator). Year. Title of image . [Online]. [Date accessed]. Available from: URL

Bowry, J. 2013. Telephone boxes in the snow . [Online]. [Accessed 10 May 2017]. Available from: http://www.flickr.com/

Picasso, P. 1925. The Dance . [Online]. [Accessed 4 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.oxfordartonline.com

Original image or photograph

Family name, INITIAL(S) (of the originator). Year. Title . [Material type]. At: Place: holding institution, department (if applicable). Identifier (if applicable).

Roux, E. 1915. Photograph taken at Gallipoli by Ernest Roux . [Photograph]. At: Leeds: Leeds University Library. Liddle Collection, FR 31.

Original image or photograph (missing details)

If there is no originator, start your reference with the image title. If there is no title, start with a description.

Title . Year. [Material type]. At: Place: holding institution, department (if applicable). Identifier (if applicable).

Photograph of two members of the Shaikevich family . c1920. [Photograph]. At: Leeds: Leeds University Library, Leeds Russian Archive Collection. MS 1210.

Image generated by AI software

Some generative AI tools provide a shareable link to the output they have generated. If this is available, you should include it. Otherwise, include the URL of the tool’s homepage.  

Company and software name. Year. AI generated image of (description) . [Online]. [Date accessed]. Available from: URL 

Adobe Firefly. 2024. AI generated image of a tree standing in a field surrounded by wildflowers and small woodland creatures . [Online]. [Accessed 12 March 2024]. Available from: https://firefly.adobe.com/public/t2i?id=urn%3Aaaid%3Asc%3AEU%3Abdae3474-5ded-425a-87ba-081ffbc50129&ff_channel=shared_link&ff_source=Text2Image  

Citation examples

Image, figure, table or diagram.

You should provide an in-text citation for any photographs, images, tables, diagrams, graphs, figures or illustrations that you reproduce in your work. The citation would normally be given after the title of the figure, table, diagram, etc.

Example: Figure 1, A four pointed star (Jones, 2015, p.54).

A reference within the text to a table, graph, diagram, etc. taken from a source should include the author, date and page number in brackets to enable the reader to identify the data.

Example: (Jones, 2015, p.33)

If you have already named the author in the text, only the publication year and page number needs to be mentioned in brackets.

Jones (2015, p.33) gave a detailed figures on the rapid increase of trade union membership during the twentieth century.

If the source of the data is not the author's own, but obtained from another source, it becomes a secondary reference and needs to be cited as such.

Example: (United Nations, 1975, cited in Smith, 2016, p.33)

If you use a table/graph, etc. from a source and then adapt it to use in your own assignment, you must make that clear in your reference.

We would suggest something along the lines of: Figure 1, Title, based on Smith, 2005, p.22.

Corporate author

If the item is produced by an organisation, treat the organisation as a "corporate author". This means you can use the name of the organisation instead of that of an individual author. This includes government departments, universities or companies. Cite the corporate author in the text the same way as you would an individual author.

According to a recent report, flu jabs are as important as travel vaccines (Department of Health, 2017).  

Common issues

When you're referencing with Leeds Harvard you may come across issues with missing details, multiple authors, edited books, references to another author's work or online items, to name a few. Here are some tips on how to deal with some common issues when using Leeds Harvard.

Skip straight to the issue that affects you:

• Online items
• URL web addresses
• Multiple authors
• Corporate author(s) or organisation(s)
• Multiple publisher details
• Editions and reprints
• Missing details
• Multiple sources with different authors
• Sources written by the same author in the same year
• Sources with the same author in different years
• Two authors with the same surname in the same year
• The work of one author referred to by another
• Anonymising sources for confidentiality
• Identifying the authors’ family name (surname)

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How to Cite Images, Tables and Diagrams

The pages outlines examples of how to cite images, tables and diagrams using the Harvard Referencing method .

An image found online

In-text citations

Mention the image in the text and cite the author and date:

The cartoon by Frith (1968) describes ...

If the image has no named author, cite the full name and date of the image:

The map shows the Parish of Maroota during the 1840s (Map of the Parish of Maroota, County of Cumberland, District of Windsor 1840-1849)

List of References

Include information in the following order:

• author (if available)
• year produced (if available)
• title of image (or a description)
• Format and any details (if applicable)
• name and place of the sponsor of the source
• accessed day month year (the date you viewed/ downloaded the image)
• URL or Internet address (between pointed brackets).

Frith J 1968, From the rich man’s table, political cartoon by John Frith, Old Parliament House, Canberra, accessed 11 May 2007, <http: // www . oph.gov.au/frith/theherald-01.html>.

If there is no named author, put the image title first, followed by the date (if available):

Khafre pyramid from Khufu’s quarry 2007, digital photograph, Ancient Egypt Research Associates, accessed 2 August 2007, <http: // www . aeraweb.org/khufu_quarry.asp>.

Map of the Parish of Maroota, County of Cumberland, District of Windsor 1840-1849, digital image of cartographic material, National Library of Australia, accessed 13 April 2007, <http: // nla . gov.au/nla.map-f829>.  

Online images/diagrams used as figures

Figures include diagrams, graphs, sketches, photographs and maps. If you are writing a report or an assignment where you include a visual as a figure, unless you have created it yourself, you must include a reference to the original source.

Figures should be numbered and labelled with captions. Captions should be simple and descriptive and be followed by an in-text citation. Figure captions should be directly under the image.

Cite the author and year in the figure caption:

Figure 1: Bloom's Cognitive Domain (Benitez 2012)

If you refer to the Figure in the text, also include a citation:

As can be seen from Figure 1 (Benitez 2012)

Provide full citation information:

Benitez J 2012, Blooms Cognitve Domain, digital image, ALIEM, accessed 2 August 2015, <https: // www . aliem.com/blooms-digital-taxonomy/>.   

Online data in a table caption

In-text citation

If you reproduce or adapt table data found online you must include a citation. All tables should be numbered and table captions should be above the table.

  Table 2: Agricultural water use, by state 2004-05 (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006)

If you refer to the table in text, include a citation:

As indicated in Table 2, a total of 11 146 502 ML was used (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006)

Include the name of the web page where the table data is found.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006, Water Use on Australian Farms , 2004-05, Cat. no. 4618.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, accessed 4 July 2007, <https: // www . abs.gov.au>.

FAQ and troubleshooting

Harvard referencing

• How to cite different sources
• How to cite references
• How to cite online/electronic sources
• Broadcast and other sources
• Citing images and tables
• FAQs and troubleshooting
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Search tip: Finding and using images for my paper or thesis

When you're writing a report, paper or thesis, you'll often use existing content. To prevent plagiarism, you must correctly cite sources from others. You also need to be aware of copyrights, especially when using (parts of) pictures, video or music, because this is often overlooked.

If you want to reuse materials, you first need to check whether they're copyrighted. If you find copyrighted content on the internet, or without information on how to reuse it, you must treat the material as copyrighted. This means that you must ask the author for permission to use it in your work.

You may use materials without asking permission when the materials are not copyrighted (in the public domain) or they have a license that allows reuse in advance, for example Creative Commons . Many websites and databases, such as Google images, YouTube and Wikimedia, have filters to find these materials. Check our page ‘ Finding open content ’ for more information.

Always remember to cite the source : If you refer to an image in your paper/thesis/report/presentation you should make cite it in the text and include it in your reference list.

• Format for the in-text citation: (Author, year, page number).
• Format for the reference in the reference list for an online source: Author, A. A. (year). Title of image [Drawing/ photograph etc]. Retrieved from http://...
• Format for the reference in the reference list for a printed source: Author, A. A. (year). Title of image [Drawing/ photograph etc]. In B. B. Editor (Ed.),  Title of book  (pp. xxx–xxx). Location: Publisher.

When you include the image itself, you should write a caption below the image with the in-text citation like this:

For open images, you also include the license on how others can reuse the material in the attribution. You can find information on how to give an attribution on the page ‘ Citing open material ’.

Include citations like these in the reference list at the end of your paper/thesis/report/presentation as well.

• AUT Library
• Library Guides
• Referencing styles and applications

APA 7th Referencing Style Guide

• Figures (graphs and images)
• Referencing & APA style
• In-text citation
• Elements of a reference
• Format & examples of a reference list
• Conferences
• Reports & grey literature

General guidelines

From a book, from an article, from a library database, from a website, citing your own work.

• Theses and dissertations
• Audio works
• Films, TV & video
• Visual works
• Computer software, games & apps
• Lecture notes & Intranet resources
• Legal resources
• Personal communications
• PowerPoint slides
• Social media
• Specific health examples
• Standards & patents
• Websites & webpages
• Footnotes and appendices
• Frequently asked questions

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. For student course work, AUT assignments and internal assessments, a permission statement is also not needed, but copyright attribution is still required.
• Important note for postgraduate students and researchers: If you wish to reproduce or adapt figures that you did not create yourself in your thesis, dissertation, exegesis, or other published work, you must obtain permission from the copyright holder/s, unless the figure is in the public domain (copyright free), or licensed for use with a Creative Commons or other open license. Works under a  Creative Commons licence  should be cited accordingly. See Using works created by others for more information. 

Please check the APA style website for an illustration of the basic figure component & placement of figure in a text.

More information & examples from the   APA Style Manual , s. 7.22-7.36,    pp. 225–250

Figure reproduced in your text

Note format - for notes below the figure

In-text citation:

Reference list entry:

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.

Note format -  for notes below the figure

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.

Note format - for notes below the figure

Reference list:

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.

Finding image details for your figure caption or reference

• 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. [...]
• For more guidance, see Visual works

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

Great Barrier Island 

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

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• Last Updated: May 10, 2024 8:35 AM
• URL: https://aut.ac.nz.libguides.com/APA7th

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA

How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA

In this citation guide, you will learn how to reference and cite an undergraduate thesis, master’s thesis, or doctoral dissertation. This guide will also review the differences between a thesis or dissertation that is published and one that has remained unpublished. The guidelines below come from the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020a), pages 333 and 334. Please note that the association is not affiliated with this guide.

Alternatively, you can visit EasyBib.com for helpful citation tools to cite your thesis or dissertation .

Guide Overview

Citing an unpublished thesis or dissertation, citing a published dissertation or thesis from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation: reference overview, what you need.

Since unpublished theses can usually only be sourced in print form from a university library, the correct citation structure includes the university name where the publisher element usually goes.

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case [Unpublished degree type thesis or dissertation]. Name of institution.

Ames, J. H., & Doughty, L. H. (1911). The proposed plans for the Iowa State College athletic field including the design of a reinforced concrete grandstand and wall [Unpublished bachelor’s thesis]. Iowa State University.

In-text citation example:

• Parenthetical :  (Ames & Doughty, 1911)
• Narrative :  Ames & Doughty (1911)

If a thesis or dissertation has been published and is found on a database, then follow the structure below. It’s similar to the format for an unpublished dissertation/thesis, but with a few differences:

• The institution is presented in brackets after the title
• The archive or database name is included

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case (Publication or Document No.) [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Database name.

Examples 1:

Knight, K. A. (2011). Media epidemics: Viral structures in literature and new media (Accession No. 2013420395) [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Trotman, J.B. (2018). New insights into the biochemistry and cell biology of RNA recapping (Document No. osu1523896565730483) [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses & Dissertations Center.

In the example given above, the dissertation is presented with a Document Number (Document No.). Sometimes called a database number or publication number, this is the identifier that is used by the database’s indexing system. If the database you are using provides you with such a number, then include it directly after the work’s title in parentheses.

If you are interested in learning more about how to handle works that were accessed via academic research databases, see Section 9.3 of the Publication Manual.

In-text citation examples :

• Parenthetical citation : (Trotman, 2018)
• Narrative citation : Trotman (2018)

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year Published). Title in sentence case [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Name of archive or collection. URL

Kim, O. (2019). Soviet tableau: cinema and history under late socialism [Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh]. Institutional Repository at the University of Pittsburgh. https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/37669/7/Olga%20Kim%20Final%20ETD.pdf

Stiles, T. W. (2001). Doing science: Teachers’ authentic experiences at the Lone Star Dinosaur Field Institute [Master’s thesis, Texas A&M University]. OAKTrust. https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2001-THESIS-S745

It is important to note that not every thesis or dissertation published online will be associated with a specific archive or collection. If the work is published on a private website, provide only the URL as the source element.

In-text citation examples:

• Parenthetical citation : (Kim, 2019)
• Narrative citation : Kim (2019)
• Parenthetical citation : (Stiles, 2001)
• Narrative citation : Stiles (2001)

We hope that the information provided here will serve as an effective guide for your research. If you’re looking for even more citation info, visit EasyBib.com for a comprehensive collection of educational materials covering multiple source types.

If you’re citing a variety of different sources, consider taking the EasyBib citation generator for a spin. It can help you cite easily and offers citation forms for several different kinds of sources.

To start things off, let’s take a look at the different types of literature that are classified under Chapter 10.6 of the Publication Manual :

• Undergraduate thesis
• Master’s thesis
• Doctoral dissertation

You will need to know which type you are citing. You’ll also need to know if it is published or unpublished .

When you decide to cite a dissertation or thesis, you’ll need to look for the following information to use in your citation:

• Author’s last name, and first and middle initials
• Year published
• Title of thesis or dissertation
• If it is unpublished
• Publication or document number (if applicable; for published work)
• Degree type (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral)
• Thesis or dissertation
• Name of institution awarding degree
• DOI (https://doi.org/xxxxx) or URL (if applicable)

Since theses and dissertations are directly linked to educational degrees, it is necessary to list the name of the associated institution; i.e., the college, university, or school that is awarding the associated degree.

To get an idea of the proper form, take a look at the examples below. There are three outlined scenarios:

• Unpublished thesis or dissertation
• Published thesis or dissertation from a database
• Thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database

American Psychological Association. (2020a). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

American Psychological Association. (2020b). Style-Grammar-Guidelines. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/parenthetical-versus-narrative

Published August 10, 2012. Updated March 24, 2020.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau. Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Parenthetical Citations
• Reference Page
• Sample Paper
• APA 7 Updates
• View APA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all APA Examples

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To cite a published thesis in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, publication year, title of the thesis, institute name, archive name, and URL (uniform resource locator). The templates for an in-text citation and reference list entry of a thesis, along with examples, are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Use the author surname and the publication year in the in-text citation.

Author Surname (Publication Year)

Cartmel (2007)

Parenthetical:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Cartmel, 2007)

Reference list entry template and example:

The title of the thesis is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose the thesis and the institute awarding the degree inside brackets following the publication year. Then add the name of the database followed by the URL.

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the thesis [Master’s thesis, Institute Name]. Name of the Database. URL

Cartmel, J. (2007). Outside school hours care and schools [Master’s thesis, Queensland University of Technology]. EPrints. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/17810/1/Jennifer_Cartmel_Thesis.pdf

To cite an unpublished dissertation in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, year, title of the dissertation, and institute name. The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of an online thesis, along with examples, are given below:

Author Surname (Year)

Averill (2009)

(Author Surname, Year)

(Averill, 2009)

The title of the dissertation is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose “Unpublished doctoral dissertation” inside brackets following the year. Then add the name of the institution awarding the degree.

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Name of the Institute.

Averill, R. (2009). Teacher–student relationships in diverse New Zealand year 10 mathematics classrooms: Teacher care [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Victoria University of Wellington.

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