Skip to Main Content
Go to the Langara College website. Opens in a new window
Go to the Langara Library website. Opens in a new window

Physics: Finding and citing images

Why do we need to cite images?

  • Images are usually subject to either copyright or an open license (such as a Creative Commons license). In both cases, the image must be cited
  • To maintain academic integrity we need to acknowledge our sources, whether they are text or images.

What about Wikipedia?

  • Information or images licensed under Creative Commons (like Wikipedia) always require attribution at minimum

Websites to search for images and icons:

 

 

Wikipedia logoWikipedia

Wikipedia is free to access and is licensed under a Creative Commons license. The terms of the license require attribution and the resource being created must be shared under the same or a similar license. 

Attribution for Creative Commons Licenses

 

Images:

1) Name of creator hyperlinked to profile
2) Title of image hyperlinked to image source
3) Link to creative commons license
4) Site retrieved from

**Identify images in the public domain

Wikipedia:

1) Name of creator (Wikipedia)
2) Name of article (hyperlinked)
3) Date accessed

 

Note: Some websites do not use Creative Commons licenses, but create their own license. Make sure to check a website's license requirements on the 'Terms-of-Use' page, to see how to properly cite an image. 

Sample assignment with proper attribution

Example Physics 1118 Assignment

A coastal grizzly bear weighs 408 kg and is running at 30 km/h to catch a bus. What is the magnitude of the momentum of the grizzly bear?

Bus stop signrunning grizzly bear

 

We will use the equation: momentum (p) = mass (m) in kilograms  X velocity (v) in meters per second

p=mv

p = 408kg X (30km/1h) X (1h/3600s) X (1000m/km) = 3400 kg•m/s

 

Citations:

Bus stop image: Bathurst Bus Stop by What's new? in the public domain. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons

Bear icon: Brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) running by Malene Thyssen under a CC-BY-SA license. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons

Average weight of grizzly bear: Grizzly Bear. In Wikipedia. Retrieved on January 22, 2019.

Complete attribution:

A complete attribution includes the title of the image (linked to the source image), creator's name (linked to their profile page), a link to the license, and a clear statement of where it was retrieved from as shown below. Wikipedia includes the retrieved from date because it is updated regularly and the information may have changed.