Skip to Main Content

APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Electronic Image

A guide to help users create citations using APA (American Psychological Association) style, 7th edition.

Helpful Tip!: Finding Images

Where can I go to find images?

If you locate an image online you need to determine who the source is as well as the copyright restrictions.

See APA Blog Post: Navigating Copyright for Reproduced Images: Part 2. Determining Whether Permission Is Needed

Below are a few good places to locate online images.

NOTE: Although some images are in the Public Domain and do not require attribution, you should always follow your instructor's requirements for citing images.

Image from an Electronic Source

Images, diagrams and artistic works should be cited as you would cite any other type of work.

Note:

  • Images in text are also generally accompanied by a caption that includes copyright information and a statement of permission for use. Please check with your instructor to see if this is necessary.

Tip: You should give as much information as possible about the images that you have used, including these basics:

  • creator's name (author, artist, photographer etc.)
  • date the work was published or created
  • title of the work
  • place of publication
  • publisher
  • type of material (for photographs, charts, online images)
  • website address and access date
  • name of the institution or museum where the work is located (for artworks and museum exhibits)
  • dimensions of the work (for artworks)

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Artist Surname, Year)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

(Artist Surname, Year)

References:

Artist Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Title of the artwork [Format]. Title of the Website. URL (address of web site)

References (No Author):

Title of work [Type of work]. (Year image was created). Title of the Website. URL (address of web site)

References (No Author, No Title, No Date):

[Subject and type of work]. Title of the Website. URL (address of web site)

Many images found on the Web fall under this category. Try to locate the missing information by clicking on the image, and/or looking at the bottom of the image.

Example

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Baumel, 2010)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

(Baumel, 2010)

References (Basic):

Baumel, A. (2010). Cholera treatment center in Haiti [Online image]. Doctors Without Borders. https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

References (No Author):

Flu epidemic [Online image]. (1919). History. http://www.history.net/photo/flu-epidemic-art/collections

References (No Author, No Title, No Date):

[Untitled illustration of a sleeping dog]. Sleeping Animals. http://www.sleepinganimals/pix.com