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FLEET LIBRARY | Research Guides

Rhode Island School of Design

How to Cite Images

A guide to various ways of citing and captioning images.

The Importance of Images

In visually-oriented disciplines, images are essential. We learn from them, study them, create them, write about them, and much more. We create images of our own work. We use images as evidence and documentation.

Yet for all the images we see, download, and create, most of us do not have an established system for organizing them or information about them.

By citing the images you use in papers and presentations (whether as a student, professor, or a practicing artist/designer), you will help others (and yourself) understand:

  • what's in them
  • who made them
  • where they came from
  • how to find them again!

How do I Do This?

For an academic paper or presentation, citing images is fairly straightforward.

  • You'll need to caption each image individually.
  • Then, you'll need to provide an image list or include the image citations in your bibliography.

Related Guide

Citation Tools - a guide to online and print citation tools + style manuals such as MLA, Chicago, Turabian and various free, online bibliographic tools

About the Librarian

 

 


Ellen Petraits
Research & Instruction Librarian

Coordinator of Graduate Library Instruction


Ellen Petraits
Except where otherwise noted, this guide is subject to a Creative Commons Attribution license.