General guidelines
A figure may be a chart, a graph, a photograph, a drawing, or any other illustration or nontextual depiction. Any type of illustration or image other than a table is referred to as a figure.
Figure Components
- Number: The figure number (e.g., Figure 1) appears above the figure in bold.
- Title: The figure title appears one double-spaced line below the figure number in Italic Title Case.
- Image: The image portion of the figure is the chart, graph, photograph, drawing, or other illustration itself.
- Legend: A figure legend, or key, if present, should be positioned within the borders of the figure and explain any symbols used in the figure image.
- Note: A note can appear below the figure to describe contents of the figure that cannot be understood from the figure title, image, and/or legend alone (e.g., definitions of abbreviations, copyright attribution). Notes are double-spaced and flush left. Not all figures include notes.
General rules
- In the text, refer to every figure by its number. For example, As shown in Figure 1, ...
- There are two options for the placement of figures in a paper. The first option is to place all figures on separate pages after the reference list. The second option is to embed each figure within the text.
- If you reproduce or adapt a figure from another source (e.g., an image you found on the internet), you should include a copyright attribution in the figure note, indicating the origin of the reproduced or adapted material, in addition to a reference list entry for the work. Include a permission statement (Reprinted or adapted with permission) only if you have sought and obtained permission to reproduce or adapt material in your figure. A permission statement is not required for material in the public domain or openly licensed material.
- Important note for postgraduate students and researchers: If you wish to reproduce or adapt figures that you did not create yourself in your thesis, dissertation, exegesis, or other published work, you must obtain permission from the copyright holder/s, unless the figure is in the public domain (copyright free), or licensed for use with a Creative Commons or other open license. Works under a Creative Commons licence should be cited accordingly. See Using works created by others for more information.
Please check the APA style website for an illustration of the basic figure component & placement of figure in a text.
More information & examples from the APA Style Manual p225–250
From a book
Figure reproduced in your text
Note format - for notes below the figure
| Note. Explanations to supplement or clarify information in the image. From [or Adapted from] Book Title (page number), by First Initial. Second Initial. Author Surname, year, Publisher. Copyright year by Name of Copyright Holder [or In the public domain or Creative Commons license abbreviation]. Reprinted with permission [or Adapted with permission] if permission is sought and obtained. |
Example:
In-text citation:
| This is clearly indicated in Figure 1,... |
Reference list entry:
|
Rasmussen, E. J. (2009). Employment relations in New Zealand (2nd ed.). Pearson. |
Referring to a figure in a book
If you refer to a figure included in a book and do not include it in your text, format the in-text citation and the reference list entry in the usual way, citing the page number where the figure appears.
In-text citation:
| ... interpretations of the portrait Mona Lisa (Gombrich 1995, p. 203). |
Reference list entry:
|
Gombrich, E. H. (1995). The story of art (16th ed.). Phaidon. |
From an article
Figure reproduced in your text
Note format - for notes below the figure
| Note. Explanations to supplement or clarify information in the image. From [or Adapted from] “Title of Article,” by First Initial. Second Initial. Author Surname, year, Journal Title, Volume(issue), page number (url or doi if from an ejournal). Copyright year by Name of Copyright Holder [or In the public domain or Creative Commons license abbreviation]. Reprinted with permission [or Adapted with permission] if permission is sought and obtained. |
Example:
In-text citation:
| As shown in Figure 2, there are five groups of factors that influence... |
Reference list entry:
|
Jahan, N., & Rahman, S. (2016). Factors that obstruct tourism development in Bangladesh. CLEAR International Journal of Research in Commerce & Management, 7(9), 48–55. |
Referring to a figure in an article
If you refer to a figure in an article and do not include it in your text, format the in-text citation and the reference list entry in the usual way for an article, citing the page number where the figure appears.
In-text citation:
| ... in the installation Talking about the Weather (Randerson, 2007, p. 446) ... |
Reference list entry:
|
Randerson, J. (2007). Between reason and sensation: Antipodean artists and climate change. Leonardo, 40(5), 442–448. https://doi.org/10.1162/leon.2007.40.5.442 |
From a library database
Figure reproduced in your text
Note format - for notes below the figure
| Note. Explanations to supplement or clarify information in the image. Title of the database. Copyright year by the Name of Copyright Holder. |
Examples:
In-text citation:
|
As Figure 1 shows, sales of meat pies ... As shown in Figure 2, ... |
Reference list:
|
EconData. (2019). Hong Kong: visitor arrivals Jan 1996–Jul 2019 [Graph]. EMED Emerging Asia database. The Nielsen Company. (2011). The market location and dollar sales of meat pies in New Zealand, March 2009–March 2011 [Graph]. Nielsen Market Information Digest New Zealand. |
From a website
Figure reproduced in your text
Note format - for notes below the figure
| Note. Explanations to supplement or clarify information in the image. From Title of Webpage, by First Initial. Second Initial. Author Surname [or Group Author], year, Site Name [omit if same as Group Author] (url). Copyright year by Name of Copyright Holder [or In the public domain or Creative Commons license abbreviation]. Reprinted with permission [or Adapted with permission] if permission is sought and obtained. |
Example:
In-text citation:
|
As shown in Figure 5, ... |
Reference list:
|
Department of Conservation. (n.d.). Sirocco the kākāpō conservation superstar. https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature_kakapo/sirocco |
Referring to a figure on a webpage
If you refer to a figure on a webpage and do not include it in your text, format the in-text citation and the reference list entry in the usual way for a webpage,
Not every reference to an artwork needs a reference list entry. For example, if you refer to a famous painting, as below, it would not need a reference.
In-text citation:
|
... facial expression reminiscent of Munch’s The Scream. |
Finding image details for your figure caption or reference
- Many images found online have few details, but always check for extra information by:
- clicking on or hovering your mouse over the image
- looking at the bottom of the image
- looking at the URL
- If there is no title, create a short descriptive one yourself and put it in square brackets e.g. [...]
- For more guidance, see Visual works