Citing Tables and Figures in APA Style
You must indicate the sources of any tables or figures that aren’t your own creation with citations and copyright notes.
This article reflects the
APA 7th edition
guidelines.
Click here
for APA 6th edition guidelines.
When you reprint or adapt a table or figure from another source, the source should be acknowledged in an
in-text citation
and in your
reference list
. Follow the format for the source type you took the table or figure from.
You also have to include a copyright statement in a note beneath the table or figure. The example below shows how to cite a figure from a
journal article
.
Reference list
Shi, F., & Zhu, L. (2019). Analysis of trip generation rates in residential commuting based on mobile phone signaling data.
Journal of Transport and Land Use
,
12
(1), 201–220. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26911264
In-text citation
(Shi & Zhu, 2019, p. 212)
Copyright note
Note
. From “Analysis of Trip Generation Rates in Residential Commuting Based on Mobile Phone Signaling Data,” by F. Shi and L. Zhu, 2019,
Journal of Transport and Land Use
,
12
(1), p. 212 (
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26911264
). CC BY-NC.
Table of contents
Citing tables and figures
Tables and figures taken from other sources are numbered and presented in
the same format as your other tables and figures
. Refer to them as Table 1, Figure 3, etc., but include an in-text citation after you mention them to acknowledge the source.
In-text citation example
The results in Table 1 (Ajzen, 1991, p. 179) show that …
You should also include the source in the reference list. Follow the standard format for the source type you took the table or figure from.
Reference list entry example
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior.
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50
(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Including a copyright note
As well as a citation and reference, when you reproduce a table or figure in your own work, you also need to acknowledge the source in a note directly below it.
The image below shows an example of a table with a copyright note.
If you’ve reproduced a table or figure exactly, start the note with “From …” If you’ve adapted it in some way for your own purposes (e.g. incorporating part of a table or figure into a new table or figure in your paper), write “Adapted from …”
This is followed by information about the source (title, author, year, publisher, and location), and then copyright information at the end.
Types of copyright and permission
A source will either be under standard copyright, under a Creative Commons license, or in the public domain. You need to state which of these is the case.
Standard copyright
Copyright 2020 by Scribbr.
Creative Commons
CC-BY-NC.
Public domain
In the public domain.
Under standard copyright, you sometimes also need permission from the publisher to reprint or adapt materials. If you sought and obtained permission, mention this at the end of the note.
Copyright 2019 by the American Psychological Association. Reprinted with permission.
Look for information on copyright and permissions from the publisher. If you’re having trouble finding this information, consult your supervisor for advice.
Scribbr Citation Checker
New
The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:
Missing commas and periods
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Ampersands (&) in narrative citations
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Examples from different source types
Note format
Note
. From
or
Adapted from “
Article Title
,” by
Initials
.
Last name
,
Year
,
Journal Name
,
Volume
(
Issue
), p.
Page number
(
URL
or
DOI
).
Copyright statement
.
Note
Note
. Adapted from “Analysis of Trip Generation Rates in Residential Commuting Based on Mobile Phone Signaling Data,” by F. Shi and L. Zhu, 2019,
Journal of Transport and Land Use
,
12
(1), p. 212 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/26911264). CC BY-NC.
Reference list
Shi, F., & Zhu, L. (2019). Analysis of trip generation rates in residential commuting based on mobile phone signaling data.
Journal of Transport and Land Use
,
12
(1), 201–220. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26911264
Note format
Note
. From
or
Adapted from
Page Title
, by
Initials
.
Last name
,
Year
(
URL
).
Copyright statement
.
Note
Note
. From
A Complete Guide to APA In-Text Citation
, by R. Streefkerk, 2020 (https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/in-text-citation/). Copyright 2020 by Scribbr.
Reference list
Streefkerk, R. (2020, October 2).
A complete guide to APA in-text citation
. Scribbr. https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/in-text-citation/
Note format
Note
. From
or
Adapted from
Book Title
(p.
Page number
), by
Initial
.
Last name
,
Year
,
Publisher
(
DOI
or
URL
).
Copyright statement
.
Note
Note
. From
The Harvard Medical School Guide to Men’s Health
, by H. B. Simon, 2004, p. 107, Free Press. Copyright 2004 by Free Press. Reprinted with permission.
Reference list
Simon, H. B. (2002).
The Harvard Medical School guide to men’s health
. Free Press.
Frequently asked questions about APA Style citations
How can I find copyright information on tables and figures from other sources?
Copyright information
can usually be found wherever the
table or figure
was published. For example, for a diagram in a
journal article
, look on the journal’s website or the database where you found the article.
Images
found on sites like
Flickr
are listed with clear copyright information.
If you find that permission is required to reproduce the material, be sure to contact the author or publisher and ask for it.
Should I include lists of my tables and figures in an APA paper?
APA doesn’t require you to include a
list of tables or a list of figures
. However, it is advisable to do so if your text is long enough to feature a
table of contents
and it includes a lot of
tables and/or figures
.
A list of tables and list of figures appear (in that order) after your table of contents, and are presented in a similar way.
Should I include tables and figures in my APA reference list?
If you
adapt or reproduce
a
table or figure
from another source, you should include that source in your
APA reference list
. You should also include copyright information in the note for the table or figure, and include an
in-text citation
when you refer to it.
Tables and figures you created yourself, based on your own data, are not included in the reference list.