Answered By: Theresa Bell (she/her/hers)
Last Updated: May 13, 2022     Views: 210000

APA Style (7th ed.)

Did You Create the Image?

If the images are yours (e.g., you drew it or took the picture, and your image isn't an adaptation of someone else's work), you don't need to cite them.

Clip art

If you're using clip art from within PowerPoint, double-check the source of the image. Clip art provided by PowerPoint doesn't need to be cited; however, PowerPoint also gives users the option to search for Bing content. Since Bing is a search engine, authors could end up using an image without considering the ownership and license of the image.

Provide credit for the image

Please assume the image is copyrighted and you therefore need to give credit for the image. If the image is copyright- and royalty-free, you should still acknowledge the creator of the image and where you retrieved it e.g., Image created by Josie Lee; retrieved from URL. If you are using an image with a Creative Commons license, please make sure to attribute the image correctly as per the specific license; see Best Practices for Attribution within the CC wiki for information. You may be able to give that credit in the slide notes, but if your instructor expects strict adherence to the APA Style rules, the credit should appear in the figure note.  The copyright attribution in the American Psychological Association's (n.d.)

sample line graph shows how to include a copyright attribution in a figure note when you have reprinted or adapted a copyrighted figure from a scholarly work such as a journal article (the format of the copyright attribution will vary depending on the source of the figure). (para. 4).

If you're not sure what is expected, please check with your instructor.

Copyright considerations

When providing credit for the image, try to determine who owns the copyright of the image, versus simply citing the website where you found it. Just because an image is on someone's website or blog doesn't mean that you can use the image copyright-free. If your PowerPoint presentation is going to be presented only to your instructor and cohort, you don't need to obtain copyright permission to use the images because your use falls under the Fair Dealing PolicyIf, however, the image will be used in any work that will be published outside the university (e.g., thesis or posting your PowerPoint presentation to your personal blog), you'll need to contact the copyright holder to request permission to use the image(s). Please see Copyright Information for Thesis and Dissertation Publication for more information.

Reference

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Sample figures. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/tables-figures/sample-figures