Chicago Referencing Guide

Tables and figures are used alongside your academic writing, to present information visually.

• Tables are laid out in grids, with information (numerical or textual) arranged in rows and columns
• Figures is a broad category that includes photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams, charts and graphs

Together, tables and figures are sometimes referred to as illustrations.

For help with placement and layout of illustrations in the body of your document, refer to the Turabian Manual for Writers, Chapter 26 (available in the AUT Library), or consult the Chicago Manual of Style Online, Chapter 3.

You must acknowledge the source of any data used in your tables or any reproduced image in your figures that you did not create yourself. You can do this within a source line (table) or figure caption (figure). 

Source line

• A source line is contained in a footnote to a table
• Cite the source in a note reference, including the original table number, or page number that the data is from
• Unless you cite the same source elsewhere in your writing, you do not need to include it in your bibliography
• If you have adapted data from the original source, include adapted from in the source line
• See the examples in Tables - Examples for guidance on formatting

Figure caption

• For reproduced images that you did not create yourself, include a note reference to the source in the figure caption
• Unless you cite the same source elsewhere in your writing, you do not need to include it in your bibliography
• See the examples in Figures - Examples for guidance on formatting
• Note: If you are planning to include images that you did not create yourself in your exegesis, thesis, or dissertation, remember that you need the permission of the copyright owner before you can submit it. See Using works created by others