Referencing in APA 7th Style

Follow the guidelines below if you are inserting in your work a figure or table you have produced yourself (e.g., a photograph you took or a table of data you created). If you are reproducing a figure or table you got from another source (for example, a book, a journal article, a website), follow the guidance in the tabs above. 

Inserting a figure you produced yourself in your text  

Align the figure with the left margin of the page with the following components: 

• Figure number: Appears above the figure or table in bold (for example, Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.) 

• Figure title: Appears one double-spaced line below the figure or table number in italic title case 

• Figure image: The figure image (photograph, drawing, or other illustration) 

• Figure legend: A legend or key can be placed within the borders of the figure, explaining any symbols used in the image 

• Figure note: A note can be added under the image to explain contents of the figure that cannot be understood from the title, image, and/or legend alone. Write the word Note in italics, followed by a full stop, and then write the note.  

Example: Photograph 

Figure 1 

Rosebay Willowherb 

Note. This figure illustrates the Rosebay Willowherb’s bright pink flower spikes and lance-like leaves arranged in spiral formation on its stem. 

Inserting a table you produced yourself in your text  

Align the table with the left margin of the page with the following components: 

• Table number: Appears above the table in bold (for example, Table 1, Table 2, etc.) 

• Table title: Appears one double-spaced line below the table number in italic title case 

• Table: The table itself, with appropriate headings, rows, and columns 

• Table note: A note can be added under the table to explain contents of the table that cannot be understood from the title or body alone. Write the word Note in italics, followed by a full stop, and then write the note. 

Example: Table 

Table 1 

Search Strategy and Search Results 

Note. TI = Title field search. 

If you reproduce (reprint or adapt) a figure or table from a book in your work, you must include a copyright attribution in the table note or figure note indicating its origin. The copyright attribution is used instead of an in-text citation. You must also provide an entry for the book in the reference list.

Inserting a figure or table from a book in your text (and adding a corresponding reference list entry)

Align the figure or table with the left margin of the page with the following components:

• Figure or table number: Appears above the figure or table in bold (for example, Figure 1, Table 1)
• Figure or table title: Appears one double-spaced line below the figure or table number in italic title case
• Figure image or table: The figure image (photograph, drawing, or other illustration) or table 
• Figure or table note: Contains copyright attribution for a reprinted or adapted figure or table

In the reference list, the entry for the figure should follow the standard format for a book.

Components of a copyright attribution:

• Statement about whether the material was reprinted (use "From") or adapted (use “Adapted from") from the book
• Title of the book, author, year of publication, and source of the figure or table
• Figure or table's copyright status (copyright year and name of the copyright holder, statement that the figure or table has a Creative Commons licence, or statement that the work is in the public domain)
• Permission statement as requested by the copyright holder, if permission was sought and obtained (this is only needed if your work is going to be published; see "A note on copyright" tab for further information)

See an example of a copyright attribution and a corresponding reference list entry in the example below.

Example: Table reproduced from a book

In the text:

Table 1

Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods

Note. From Strategic Social Media Management: Theory and Practice (p. 15), by K. E. Sutherland, 2021, Palgrave Macmillan (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4658-7). Copyright 2021 by K. E. Sutherland under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

In the reference list:

If you reproduce (reprint or adapt) a figure or table from a journal article in your work, you must include a copyright attribution in the table note or figure note indicating its origin. The copyright attribution is used instead of an in-text citation. You must also provide an entry for the journal article in the reference list.

Inserting a figure or table from a journal article in your text (and adding a corresponding reference list entry)

Align the figure or table with the left margin of the page with the following components:

• Figure or table number: Appears above the figure or table in bold (for example, Figure 1, Table 1)
• Figure or table title: Appears one double-spaced line below the figure or table number in italic title case
• Figure image or table: The figure image (photograph, drawing, or other illustration) or table 
• Figure or table note: Contains copyright attribution for a reprinted or adapted figure or table

In the reference list, the entry for the figure should follow the standard format for a journal article.

Components of a copyright attribution:

• Statement about whether the material was reprinted (use "From") or adapted (use “Adapted from") from the journal article
• Title of the article, author, year of publication, and source of the figure or table
• Figure or table's copyright status (copyright year and name of the copyright holder, statement that the figure or table has a Creative Commons licence, or statement that the work is in the public domain)
• Permission statement as requested by the copyright holder, if permission was sought and obtained (this is only needed if your work is going to be published; see "A note on copyright" tab for further information)

See an example of a copyright attribution and a corresponding reference list entry in the example below.

Example: Graph reproduced from a journal article

In the text:

Figure 1

Perceived Impact of the Paging System According to Resident-physicians and Nurses

Note. From “New Uses of Old Technology: Can Nurse-pagers Improve Communication Between Resident-physicians and Nurses” (p. 3), by P. Goyal et al., 2018, Applied Nursing Research, 44, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2018.08.003. Copyright 2018 by Elsevier Inc.

In the reference list:

If you reproduce (reprint or adapt) a figure or table from a website in your work, you must include a copyright attribution in the table note or figure note indicating its origin. The copyright attribution is used instead of an in-text citation. You must also provide an entry for the website in the reference list.

Inserting a figure or table from a website in your text (and adding a corresponding reference list entry)

Align the figure or table with the left margin of the page with the following components:

• Figure or table number: Appears above the figure or table in bold (for example, Figure 1, Table 1)
• Figure or table title: Appears one double-spaced line below the figure or table number in italic title case
• Figure image or table: The figure image (photograph, drawing, or other illustration) or table 
• Figure or table note: Contains copyright attribution for a reprinted or adapted figure or table

In the reference list, the entry for the figure should follow the standard format for a website.

Components of a copyright attribution:

• Statement about whether the material was reprinted (use "From") or adapted (use “Adapted from") from the website
• Title of the website, author, year of publication, and source of the figure or table
• Figure or table's copyright status (copyright year and name of the copyright holder, statement that the figure or table has a Creative Commons licence, or statement that the work is in the public domain)
• Permission statement as requested by the copyright holder, if permission was sought and obtained (this is only needed if your work is going to be published; see note on copyright below)

See an example of a copyright attribution and a corresponding reference list entry in the example below.

Example: Photograph reproduced from a website

In the text:

Figure 1

Three-spined Stickleback

Note. From Stickleback, by NatureScot, 2020 (https://www.nature.scot/plants-animals-and-fungi/fish/freshwater-fish/stickleback). Copyright 2020 by NatureScot.

In the reference list:

NatureScot. (2020). Stickleback. https://www.nature.scot/plants-animals-and-fungi/fish/freshwater-fish/stickleback

Under UK copyright law, you may reproduce images in your text for the purpose of critique or review providing your use is “fair dealing (often called “fair use”), i.e., it is used for the purpose of criticism, review or quotation, and the source of the work is appropriately acknowledged (for full details, see Section 30 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988).

Reproducing images for use in an academic work, such as an essay or dissertation, is usually considered “fair dealing”, provided you credit the original work with a copyright attribution, so you do not need to get the copyright holder’s permission.

Please note, however, that if your academic work will be published—for example, if your PhD thesis will be published in an open access repository—you should request the copyright holder's permission to reproduce an image, or consider making an e-version of your thesis with the images removed. For more information about this, see our Copyright for Researchers LibGuide. 

If you are in doubt about the copyright status of a work you wish to reproduce that you think may not be covered by fair dealing, please consult your subject librarian.