You can refer to images or figures from sources without including the image in your text, and Cite them right provides information about this.
However, if you are writing about an image or figure at length, you will probably want to include it in your work. You may also create images or figures (such as graphs) for your work, which are included within the text.
There is no official guidance on this at the university, so what is set out below are examples of what is commonly done. You have four different elements, which are shown below:
The list of figures may not be necessary in all situations, especially if you are only including one or two images/figures. Also, if you are including a list of figures, it may not be necessary to include the sources of images in the list of references.
When including an image in your work, you should always include a figure number, Author, Title of the image and the date the image was produced, as in the example below:
Fig 1. William Henry Fox Talbot, An oak tree in winter, 1842.
You may also want to include more information here - i.e. the material where relevant, the source, and the date accessed if it is online:
Fig 1. William Henry Fox Talbot, An oak tree in winter, 1842 [photograph]. The J. Paul Getty Museum. Available at: http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/ (Accessed: 24 March 2024).
The numbering should always be consecutive - i.e. the first image used is labelled 'fig 1', and the second 'fig 2' etc.
When referring to the image in the text, you can use the figure number, the author surname and the date - e.g. ...as shown in Figure 1 (Fox Talbot, 1842).
If required, you may also provide a list of the images using the image captions at the start of your work, along with the page number where the image appears. You can also add additional relevant information here.
Fig 1 William Henry Fox Talbot, An oak tree in winter, 1842.... Page 2
or
Fig. 1 William Henry Fox Talbot, An oak tree in winter [photograph], 19.4 × 16.6 cm, 1842, The J. Paul Getty Museum. Available at: http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/ (Accessed: 24 March 2024).......... Page 2
You may also provide a reference with the full source details in the list of references. Use whatever referencing style you use for your references (the following is Harvard). Refer to Cite Them Right if you are unsure how to set out the reference.
Fox Talbot, W. H. (1842) An oak tree in winter [photograph]. The J. Paul Getty Museum. Available at: http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/ (Accessed 26th March 2019)
There are two important exceptions to copyright law which mean that you can include an image without asking for permission.
Exceptions for education or teaching
You can use copyrighted work in your academic work as long as it is necessary to illustrate a point and you provide sufficient acknowledgement of the authorship.
This exception is limited to the context of education. It does not include making things available outside of an education setting (e.g. on a blog), even if that purpose is educational.
Exceptions for criticism or review
Another exception to copyright is if you are using the work for quotation, criticism or review.
You should provide sufficient acknowledgement, and your use should not extend beyond what is necessary for quotation, criticism or review. Your use should be 'fair,' so, for example, you cannot publish a whole book (or a substantial part of it) to review it!
