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Attribution

Graphics, information and citation examples on this guide were taken from the Art Research guide of the University of California Irvine and are used with permission.

GET VISUAL!

letter V Block Letter I s letter U hangman tile blue letter A letter L

Visual literacy is a set of abilities that enables an individual to effectively find, interpret, evaluate, use, and create images and visual media.

 

letter L counterfeit Lego letter I letter E letter R A C IMG_5568_6

When to use what!

  • Guides for selecting which resource(s) to use when you are looking for a digital image.

Image Citation Guide

  • How do I cite a digital image?
  • How do I cite a You Tube Video?
  • How do I provide attribution to an image I found on Creative Commons?
  • How do I cite a comic strip in MLA format?

This guide is designed to help you answer these sorts of questions.

 
 

Citing vs. Attribution

When to Cite

When to provide Attribution

Any images you plan to use in a scholarly work (from print or web) should be cited according to required format style (APA, MLA, etc.)

You may attribute an image/visual media source for presentations, papers, or other formats that do not require a specific publication style.

Quick Reference

Example  (MLA) image from the web

Example (APA) image from the web

Example attributed image from the web

 

 

 

Blake, William. The Ghost of a Flea. 1918. Tempera heightened with gold on mahogany. Tate Britain, London. Art Project. Google. Web. 15 Feb. 2011

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Lastname, Firstname. Title of Work. Year. Medium. Institution housing work: Location of Institution. Website name. Website sponsor. Web. Date of retrieval.

Carvaggio, M. (1606). Death of the Virgin. [Painting]. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravaggio

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Lastname, A. A. (Year of composition). Title of Work. [Format]. Place work resides

Praying Mantis by Elizabeth Swider (2010) (CC-BY 3.0)

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Try to include the following information:

  • Provide the creator of the work
  • the title
  • year(s) when it was composed/completed
  • materials involved in creating the work
  • institution that houses the work
  • date the work was retrieved
  • the website from which the work was retrieved (a hyperlink if the format allows).

 

Attributing Images: Essential elements

This information was copied from The University of California Irvine's page: "Art Research: Attribution Best Practices" by Derek Quezada

Attribute an image/visual media source for presentations, papers, or other formats that do not require a specific publication style.

Try to include the following elements in your attribution

  • Provide the creator of the work
  • the title of the work
  • the year(s) when it was composed/completed
  • the materials involved in creating the work
  • the institution that houses the work
  • the date the work was retrieved
  • the website from which the work was retrieved (a hyperlink if the format allows).

Examples

Examples for some of the most common instances where attribution might be necessary.

Google Images

Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night, 1889 (oil paint on canvas). Retrieved 7.27.11:

http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starryindex.html

Flickr Images

Science Library, UC Irvine by askpang, 2007 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Wikimedia Commons

Featherbed Alley Printshop (2006) by Aodhdubh (CC BY-SA 3.0)

 

Tips

  • Don't attribute an image to Google Images, look for attribution information on the page that actually hosts the image to provide the essential elements listed above
  • The Creative Commons status of the image (and a link to the Creative Commons license page provided by the creator if the format allows) should be included.
  • Creative Commons images may be found on a number of websites
  • The rules above were created with the intention of providing basic citation information. There is no official set of rules for citing works found and/or composed on the internet
  • Consistency is important, bear in mind that the primary purpose of citing references is to help a reader/viewer find the original sources.
  • Always do your best to credit the creator of a work and follow the licensing terms that they may have proposed