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Referencing Help

Referencing Help

Citing Information from a Figure or Table

  • A figure is a photo, image, map, graph, chart, diagram or other drawing.
  • A table is text/numerical data displayed in rows and columns.
  • If you refer to information from a figure or table but do not reproduce it as a figure or table in your paper, create an in-text citation (include a page number and figure/table number where possible) and a reference entry in the format appropriate for the source you found the figure/table in. For example, if the information comes from a table in a journal article, cite it in journal article format.
  • In-text citation Reference
    Relatively few citations to Wikipedia are for specific mathematical formulas or chemical properties (Brazzeal, 2011, Table 1).

    Brazzeal, B. (2011). Citations to Wikipedia in chemistry journals: A preliminary study. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, (67). https://doi.org/10.29173/istl1527

Reproducing Figures or Tables

  • If you reproduce a figure/table or extract information as a figure/table in your paper, you will need to number it and include the source information as a Note below the figure/table and also include a reference entry in the format appropriate for the source where you found the information.
  • All tables/figures are referred to in the text by their number. Example: As illustrated in Figure 2 ... or As shown in Table 3 ...
  • The Note must be in the same font as the main body text and double spaced. It can begin with some concise text to explain the table or figure, but this is optional.
  • Basic format of a figure or table:
  • A reference for the source should be provided.
  •  
  • If copyright attribution is required for the source, include below information in the Note:
  1. State whether the material is reprinted ("From") or adapted ("Adapted from")
  2. Provide the title, author, year of publication, and source of the material (using Title Case)
  3. Indicate the material's copyright status
  4. Include a permission statement if your paper will be published. College or university coursework generally do not require a permission statement.
  • Source Status Source Information Copyright Status Permission Statement
    Website

    From

    or

    Adapted from

    Title of Webpage, by A. A. Author and B. B. Author, year, Site Name (URL).

    Title of Webpage, by Group Author Same as Site Name, year (URL).

    Copyright year by Name of Copyright Holder.

    or

    In the public domain.

    or

    CC BY-NC.

    Reprinted with permission.

    or

    Adapted with permission.
    Book or report Title of Book or Report (p. xx), by A. A. Author and B. B. Author, year, Publisher (DOI or URL).
    Journal "Title of Article," by A. A. Author and B. B. Author, year, Title of Journal, volume(issue), p. xx (DOI or URL).
    • Example of extracting a table from a journal article

    • For further information on laying out tables and figures, and examples, see the APA Style website - Tables and figures.

Creating Figures or Tables with Data from Multiple Sources

  • If you create your own figure or table by compiling information from a variety of sources, you still need to cite where you got the information from. If the source is a figure, table, or data that requires a copyright attribution, include the copyright attribution in the Note according to the source. If no copyright attribution is required or you have reconfigured or reanalysed the data, just provide an author-date in-text citation in the Note for each source. A reference for each source is still needed.


  • Example of compiling a table from multiple sources with copyright attribution:


  • Example of compiling a table from multiple sources without copyright attribution: