APA 6th Referencing: Figures, Tables, & Images

Figures, Tables, & Images: Style Notes

When including a figure or table from another source in your work, it is important to include appropriate citations. Any image or illustration in APA is treated as either a table or a figure. See APA Style Blog, Figures and Tables.

How to cite figures (including images, charts, graphs, photographs, etc.):

• If you're simply referring to a figure in your work, then cite the source as you would a quotation, with an in-text reference.
• If you are reproducing the image in your work, you must include a caption with an APA Style copyright permission statement.

Reproducing a figure or table:

1. Tables are numerical values or text displayed in rows and columns.
2. Figures are any type of illustration (image, chart, graph, photograph, drawing, map...) other than a table.
3. All tables and figures must be referred to in the main body of the text.
4. Number all tables and figures in the order they first appear in the text. Refer to them in the text by their number. e.g. As shown in Table 3...
5. Each table or figure should have a title and a caption.
6. The caption should include copyright information for the information or figure used.
7. An in-text reference is not used when reproducing a figure or table. A table note is used instead.

Figures:

If the figure is not your own work, it requires a caption and acknowledgement of the source. Refer to the figure in your work by using the figure number.

In-text citation example for a reproduced figure:

As Figure 1 shows, ...

As represented in Figure 2, ...

A caption for figures should include:

• The word Figure and a number (from 1, in numerical order) - in italics. e.g. Figure 4.
• A title for the figure, or a brief description. There should be enough information to understand what is being shown.
• Acknowledgement of the source, i.e. the book, journal, or website where you found the figure.
• Copyright statement. Figures in text are generally accompanied by a caption that includes copyright information.

Note: Coursework students, please check with your lecturer to see how much detail they require.

Format for an image reproduced from a webpage:

Figure X. Descriptive phrase that serves as title and description. From (or Adapted from) "Title of Web Document," by A. A. Author, Date (URL). Copyright [year] by Name of Copyright Holder. Permission statement.

Example (journal article source):

Figure 6. Adapted from “A Conceptual Validation Study of the Texture Response on the Rorschach," by A. Marsh and D. J. Viglione, 1992, Journal of Personality Assessment, 58(3), p. 576. Copyright 1992 by Society for Personality Assessments.

Tables:

Tables should include:

• Table Number and Title: Place the table number at the top, then the title below the table number, and the table itself directly under the title. The title should be in italics, with major words capitalized and no full stop.
  • e.g. Table 1
  •        Mean Performance Scores of Students With Different University Majors
  •        [Table]
• Table Notes: A general note qualifies, explains, or provides information relating to the table. Include within general notes any acknowledgements that a table is reproduced from another source. The word Note is italicised.
  • Example (book source):
  • Note. From Thermophysical Properties of Fluids, p. 113, by M. J. Assael, 1998, London: Imperial College Press. Copyright 1998 by Imperial College Press. Reprinted with permission.

End-text references for figures and tables:

The end-text reference only gives the details of the source, i.e. the book, journal article, or webpage where you found the figure or table.

Example: Assael, M. J. (1998). Thermophysical properties of fluids. London: Imperial College Press.

Citing sources within a table:

If you have created a table using information from multiple sources, you might wonder how to cite those sources properly. How you cite sources depends on the context. An explanation (with examples) can be found on the APA style blog: Navigating Copyright: How to Cite Sources in a Table. This blog is written by staff of the American Psychological Association, the body that produced the APA Style Guide.

Figures, Tables, & Images: Sample Captions

Note that for some purposes, your unit coordinator might prefer an abbreviated form of these captions. Please refer to your unit coordinator or unit plan for exact instructions for a particular assignment.

Figures, Tables, & Images: Sample References (in-text)

Figure Guidelines

Figure Components

Table Guidelines

Table Components