LibGuides: APA Referencing: Figures (Including images, photos, graphs etc), Tables

Figures

See below for examples on how to reference figures from a chapter in an edited book, a book/ebook, a journal article or a webpage

What are figures?

Figures refer to photographs, charts, drawings, graphs, maps or any other illustration or image.

Basic components of a figure

The basic components are a figure number, a title above the image and a note below the image.

Figure Number: e.g. Figure 1. This figure number is above the title, to the left margin and is bold. Figure numbers are in the order that they are mentioned in the assignment.
Figure Title: The figure title is one double-spaced line below the figure number. It is brief, clear and descriptive. It is in italics and has capital letters for the major words
Image: The image is the graph, chart, photograph, drawing etc. It must be clear and if there is text i.e. axis labels, use sans serif font between 8-14
Figure Note: This note is below the image. There are three types of notes - general, specific and probability. The word Note is in italics. It contains information needed to clarify the contents of the figure and a copyright attribution

What is a copyright attribution?

If you reprint or adapt a figure from a published source e.g. a journal article, book, or image from a website, you need to provide an acknowledgement of its copyright status. This is in the form of a copyright attribution. This is a brief statement providing details of the original work and the copyright holder
The copyright attribution is written in a similar way to the reference list entry, but in a different order

Reprinted or Adapted

Reprinted: This is when you have copied the image. It is exactly like the original, where you have made no changes. You use the word 'From' in the figure note
Adapted: This is when you have changed the image. You use the words 'Adapted from' in the figure note

Permission to use a figure

Copyright permission is not required for reprinted or adapted figures if you are using them for educational purposes such as in student assignments. You still need to acknowledge where the figure came from by including a copyright attribution
If you are publishing your work in a theses, dissertation or journal article etc, see Masters and Staff below

Masters and Staff - Work that will be published

If the image is included in work that will be published i.e. a thesis or journal article, permission to use the copyrighted image is required (unless it is copyright free or has a Creative Commons license. See Creative Commons for more information). This permission is placed at the end of the caption e.g. Reprinted with permission or if adapted, use 'Adapted from' followed by copyright information. See the APA Manual pp. 225-250 for more information.

Figures - Chart, Graph, Drawing, Infographic etc

Figure from a chapter in an edited book

Figure 1

Heart Failure

Note. Placement of pacing leads in cardiac resynchronisation therapy. From "Nursing Management: Heart Failure" by C. Moffa, in D. Brown, H. Edwards, T. Buckley, and R. L. Aitken (Eds.), Lewis's Medicial-Surgical Nursing: Assessment and Management of Clinical Problems (5th ed., p.861), 2020, Elsevier. Copyright 2020 by Elsevier.

In-text citation

As shown in Figure 1 ... (Moffa, 2020, p. 861).

Reference list entry

Moffa, C. ( 2020). Nursing management: Heart failure. In D. Brown, H. Edwards, T. Buckley, & R. L. Aitken (Eds.), Lewis's medicial-surgical nursing: Assessment and management of clinical problems (5th ed., pp. 849-870). Elsevier.

Figure from a book/ebook

Figure 2

Histologic Changes in Alzheimer Disease

In-text citation

Figure 2 shows ... (Burchum & Rosenthal, 2025, p. 227).

Reference list entry

Burchum, J. R., & Rosenthal, L. D. (2025). Lehne's pharmacology for nursing care (12th ed.). Elsevier.

The figure note includes an explanation describing the information in the image
The figure note is similar to the reference list entry but in a different order
This is followed by information about the copyright holder
Print books or ebooks with no DOI that are from a library database, stop at the publisher information

Figure from a journal article

Figure 3

Hamstring Exercises for Older People

Note. Hamstring stretches. From "Exercises for Older Adults With Knee and Hip Pain," by N. E. Peterson, K. D. Osterloh, and M. N. Graff, 2019, The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 15, p. 267.e1 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2018.12.029). Copyright 2019 by Elsevier.

In-text citation

Figure 3 shows ... (Peterson et al., 2019).

Reference list entry

Peterson, N. E., Osterloh, K. D., & Graff, N. M. (2019). Exercises for older adults with knee and hip pain. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 15, 263-267e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2018.12.029

Figure from Webpage

Figure 4

Wainuiomata Mall Site Plan

Note. Wainuiomata Mall site plan to be completed in late 2020. From Wainuiomata Mall One Step Closer to Construction by Hutt City, 2019 (http://heart.huttcity.govt.nz/business/wainuiomata-mall-one-step-closer-to-construction/). In the public domain.

In-text citation

Figure 4 shows that ...(Hutt City, 2019).

Reference list entry

Hutt City. (2019, August 12). Wainuiomata Mall one step closer to construction. http://heart.huttcity.govt.nz/business/wainuiomata-mall-one-step-closer-to-construction/

Figures in PowerPoint presentations

When using an image, it should be relevant to your presentation and not added just for decoration. Figures (i.e. images, photos, graph, drawing etc) including those found on the internet still belong to someone, so you must always acknowledge where you got the image from by creating a reference.

Student PowerPoint presentations

Usually, student PowerPoint presentations are not published or made publicly available. Therefore, including a figure number or title above the image is optional. You should include an acknowledgement underneath the image. This could be an in-text citation similar to a written assignment i.e. (Author, Date). Check this with your tutor.

(Denali National Park and Preserve, 2013)

Publicly available presentations

If it is a copyrighted image, a copyright attribution is required and should be included in the figure note. If the figure is in the public domain, it can be reproduced without permission. If it has a Creative Commons licence, this should be included.

Note. From Lava [Photograph], by Denali National Park and Preserve, 2013, Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/denalinps/8639280606/). CC BY 2.0

Reference lists

PowerPoint presentations should have a reference list on a slide at the end of your presentation.

Reference list entry

Denali National Park and Preserve. (2013). Lava [Photograph]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/denalinps/8639280606/

Photographs

Own photograph or image

If the photograph is one that you have taken and it has not been published, only a caption is required. There is no reference list entry.

Figure 5

Cardiff Castle

Note. Medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion. Photograph taken by the author.

In-text citation

As shown in Figure 5, ...

The title is brief and descriptive
If necessary, include additional information in the Note area to clarify the contents of the figure
If there are any identifable people, ask their permission
if it is a personal photo taken by another person (family etc), ask permission and acknowledge the original author e.g. Note. Personal phograph by J. Smith. Reprinted with permission.

Image from Clip Art or Stock Image

Figure 6

Humpback whale

Note. (Michel, 2014). CC-BY 2.0.

In-text citation

As depicted in Michel's photo (2014), ...

Figure 6 shows ... (Michel, 2014).

Reference list entry

Michel, C. (2014, February 6). Humpback whales [Photograph]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/cmichel67/12389517865

This refers to stock images i.e. Shutterstock, Pixabay, Flickr etc
The license associated with the image determines how it should be credited. If it states no attribution is required and its free to reproduce, it can be used without attribution. This example has a Creative Commons license
Clip Art from Microsoft can be used without attribution. By purchasing the program you have purchased the license

Artwork in a Museum or on a Museum website

Tables

Basic components of tables:

Table Number: e.g. Table 1. is above the title, to the left margin and bold. Table numbers are in the order that they are mentioned in the assignment
Table Title: The title is one double-spaced line below the table number. It is brief, clear and descriptive. It is in italics and has capital letters for the major words
Table: Tables may include headings depending on the data i.e. column headings and stub heading (leftmost column)
Body: The body of the table includes rows and columns
Table Note: There is often a note below the table . The word Note is in italics. It contains information needed to clarify the contents of the table, mentions a copyright attribution or acknowledge the original source

Copyright attribution, reprinting /adapting and permission

See first box above for information

Masters and Staff - Work that will be published

If the table is included in work that will be published i.e. a thesis or journal article, permission to use the copyrighted image is required (unless it is copyright free or has a Creative Commons license. See Creative Commons for more information). This permission is placed at the end of the caption e.g. Reprinted with permission or if adapted, use 'Adapted from' followed by copyright information.

See the APA Manual pp. 199-224 or APA Style Blog for more information.

Table 1

Household Composition, 2013 and 2018 Census

Note. Household composition from census. From New Data Shows 1 in 9 Children Under the Age of Five Live in a Multi-Family Household by Stats NZ, 2020, (https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/new-data-shows-1-in-9-children-under-the-age-of-five-lives-in-a-multi-family-household). Copyright 2020 by Statistics New Zealand.

In-text

According to Table 1 ... (Statistics New Zealand, 2020).

Reference list entry

Statistics New Zealand. (2020, June 2). New data shows 1 in 9 children under the age of five live in a multi-family household. https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/new-data-shows-1-in-9-children-under-the-age-of-five-lives-in-a-multi-family-household