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APA Style 7th ed - Citation Guide for Nursing & Health Sciences

General guidelines for images

The requirements for citing an image depend on the image license and if the image is being reproduced in your assignment. 

  • If the image description or license states credit is required (or if it is unclear), provide a reference list entry & an in-text citation or copyright attribution (if you are reproducing the image) according to the formats below.
  • Some images, such as stock images or clip art, may state that attribution is not required. These images can be used without a citation or copyright attribution. 

   Not sure? Check the APA Publication Manual or ask library staff for guidance.

Image Attribution

If you wish to reproduce a copyrighted image (or a table/figure) in your assignment, this is generally allowed under copyright law under the principle of fair dealing. However, a copyright attribution should be included in addition to a citation for any reproduced images. A copyright attribution should appear below the reproduced image and uses the following format (for an image reproduced from a book):   

Figure #
[Image] 
Note. From Title of Book (page number), by F. Lastname, Year, Publisher (DOI or URL). Copyright date and holder or Creative Commons license type.

Example: 

Figure 1 

Note. From Concepts of Biology – 1st Canadian Edition (p. 117), by C. Molnar & J. Gair, 2015, BCcampus (https://opentextbc.ca/biology/). CC BY 4.0.   

Reproduced images, tables, or figures should have a corresponding reference list entry. See examples below for format. For a reproduced image, the copyright attribution stands in place of an in-text reference. See the APA publication manual p. 390 for additional copyright attribution templates.   

Photograph

Basic Format

Photographer Lastname, F. M. (YEAR). Title of photograph [Photograph]. Website Name. URL

Reference List

Miller, C. (n.d.). Knox United Church is proudly affirming of the queer community [Photograph]. The Tyee. https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2025/02/14/Conservative-Farm-Belt-Queer-Friendly-Church/

In-Text

(Miller, n.d.)

If the date is missing write (n.d.) for 'no date'.

Artwork on a Museum Website or in a Museum

Basic Format

Artist, F. M. (YEAR) Title of artwork [Medium]. Name of Museum, Location of Museum. URL

Reference List

Harris, L. S. (1930). Mt. Lefroy [Painting]. McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, ON, Canada. http://collections.mcmichael.com/objects/1259/mt-lefroy?ctx=601aa645-47bb-486a-a9b1-1f19979f0759&idx=2

In-Text

(Harris, 1930)

Clip Art or Stock Image

Basic Format

Artist, F. M. (Year) Title of artwork [Format]. Website name. URL

Reference List

Park, J. (2018) Bean the cat [Stock image]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/brown-tabby-cat-7GX5aICb5i4 

In-Text

(Park, 2018)

Some stock images or clip art licenses will state "no attribution required". In this case you do not need to provide a citation or image attribution. For more information see the APA Style Website

Image with No Author, Title, or Date

Basic Format

[Description and format]. (no date) Website name. URL

Reference List

[Photograph of person washing hands]. (n.d.) CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/clean-hands/about/

In-Text

([Photograph of person washing hands], n.d.)

Sometimes images will be missing citation elements. For images with no author, begin the reference with the image title.

If there is no title, provide a brief description of the image and format in square brackets.

If there is no date, use the abbreviation n.d. in place of the year.