Citation and Writing Guide: Basic Image Searching

Images found online are subject to copyright law just like any other creative work. In other words, just because an image is freely accessible on the Internet does not mean it is legally available to use in an assignment or project.

This guide provides:

• A list of useful free image websites to use and how to credit images found on these sites
• An explanation Creative Commons licenses
• Instructions for using Google Image search to find reusable images
• Guidelines for citing images in APA and MLA style

To appropriately credit an image on a website you have created, you can follow this format:

"Image Title" by Creator's Name is licensed for reuse under CC License Type.

Best practices for crediting images:

• Link back to the original work
• Give credit to the image creator and link to the creator's website (if available)
• State the license type and link to the license webpage

Example:

"Monarch Butterfly" by Peter Miller is licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.