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Citation, Style & Copyright Resources

Citing

In all academic assignments, you must properly cite all ideas and work you use that are not your own to ensure the integrity of your work. Citations also strengthen your work as they show the effort you put into your research, and add context to your argument.

Plagiarism is copying someone else's work, words, or ideas and representing them as your own without giving credit to the author. 

Plagiarism in an academic offense; consequences can include failure of and expulsion from a course. 

The library is here to help with citation:

  • Ask for help with citation and assistance finding resources about citing via the Library's online chat service.
  • Make an appointment with a Learning Strategist at Student Learning Services.
A note about citation style guidelines: Many citation format guidelines are open to interpretation. For this reason your instructor is the final authority of the subject of citation for any given assignment.

There are two citation management tools you may consider using to organize your research:

Take a close look at them both and decide which one would work best for your research projects.

 

Citation Examples

Please note that these APA citations do not have a hanging indent. Your citations should.

Posts, Tweets, Status Updates, Pages & Forums

Tweet

Angelou, M. [@DrMayaAngelou]. (2013, June 9). You can only become truly accomplished at something you love [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/DrMayaAngelou/status /343844424767389696/

Gates, B. [@BillGates]. (2013, February 26). #Polio is 99% eradicated. Join me & @FCBarcelona as we work to finish the job and #EndPolio. VIDEO: http://b-gat.es/X75Lvy [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/306195345845665792

Facebook Post

Gaiman, N. [Neil]. (2012, February 29). Please celebrate Leap Year Day in the traditional manner by taking a writer out for dinner. It’s been four years since many authors had a good dinner. We are waiting. [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/neilgaiman/posts/10150574185041016

Online forum Post

u/FrelandsArmy (2020, August 21). Looking for somewhere to camp/sleep in car for a night in Calgary [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/Calgary/comments/idrwp8/looking_for_somewhere_to_campsleep_in_car_for_a/

Reader comments

YouTube Comment

49metal. (2016). Re: Are you dating a psychopath? [Video file]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=cP5HIjA9hh4&lc=z13bu5ghznaawh0ez23ajz0gnquidx1z004

Online Forum Comment

00mba. (n.d.) Re: Injured mountain bike rider's story continues to fall apart. [Online forum post]. Reddit.  https://www.reddit.com/r/Calgary/comments/6n2y4n/injured_mountain_bike_riders_story_continues_to/dk6c12y/

Images & Photos

Image/Photo with Caption

Facebook

National Geographic. (2012, November 20). A supertelephoto lens allowed Colleen Pinski to capture this image of an annual solar eclipse. See more top shots: http://on.natgeo.com/UasjJH [Photograph]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151148294503951&set=pb.23497828950.-2207520000.1357225190

Instagram

Justin Trudeau [justinpjtrudeau]. (2018, April 8).  A wonderful conversation with the Queen ahead of #CHOGM18 today. It’s always a privilege to discuss the state of the world, and benefit from her wisdom and insight. [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhuy8A1BB5v/?hl=en&taken-by=justinpjtrudeau

Image/Photo without Caption

U.S. Census Bureau. (2012, October 10). [Pathways after a bachelor’s degree in psychology: Educational attainment, common occupations, and synthetic work-life earnings and estimates] [Infographic]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151027855527364&set=a.10151027848052364.407698.202626512363

Citing Images in your Assignments

Images that you refer to in your assignments must always be cited both parenthetically in text and in your reference list.

Images that you reproduce in your assignment (paper, poster, slide presentation, webpage or digital project) must also be cited in-text as a figure note. In addition to information about the image, your figure note must include a statement about copyright and usage rights. Add information about the creative commons license, public domain status, or the name of the copyright holder and copyright date, as applicable.

 

Example 1

Figure 1

 Portrait of a Woman by Raphael, 1505-1506.

Portrait of a woman by Raphael

Note. Source: (Wikimedia Commons, 2011).

Note: Some instructors may allow you to use a typical APA parenthetical in-text reference (as in Figure 1 above) under your image instead of a more formal figure note. Check your assignment requirements with your instructor.

Reference list entry:

In addition to the in-text citation, this image would also be cited in your reference list like this:

Raphael. (1505-1506). Portrait of a Woman [Drawing]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raffaello_Sanzio_-        _Portrait_of_a_Woman_-_WGA18948.jpg

 

*Note that APA reference entries should be double spaced and should have hanging indents. These examples are not formatted correctly.

 

Example 2

 

Figure 2

Lava the Sled Dog

Note. From Lava [Photograph], by Denali National Park and Preserve, 2013, Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/denalinps/8639280606/). CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/).

 

Note: This picture was posted under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) Creative Commons license, which gives permission for it to be shared and adapted as long as it is properly attributed to the creator. Read the license carefully to ensure that you are providing all of the information that the creator has asked be included in any attribution. 

Reference list entry:

Denali National Park and Preserve. (2013). Lava [Photograph]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/denalinps/8639280606/

Note: If the image has no title, provide a description of the image in your own words, e.g.:

Denali National Park and Preserve. (2013). Blue-eyed dog in the snow [Photograph]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/denalinps/8639280606/

 

Example 3

Figure 3 

Artist With Their Work

Note. From Philadelphia Museum of Art [@philamuseum] [Photograph], 2019, Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/p/B5oDnnNhOt4/). 

 

Note: In the case of social media apps like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc. it is not always possible to tell who has copyright over the image (because images are often uploaded by people other than the creator or copyright holder). If you cannot find copyright or attribution information about your image, simply leave it out of your figure note, as above.

Reference list entry:

Philadelphia Museum of Art [@philamuseum]. (2019, December 3). “It’s always wonderful to walk in and see my work in a collection where it’s loved, and where people are” [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/B5oDnnNhOt4/

  • In this case, there is no title, so we use the first part of the post’s description. 

 

Note about Stock images and clip art

(e.g. images from iStock, Getty Images, Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Flickr, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or graphic design software like Canva.)

  • It is important to look at the license terms of the source you are using. If the license terms indicate that attribution is required, then you should include a citation in your APA paper. 
  • Clip art (icons) from Microsoft programs generally does not need to be cited, BUT you should assess each image you want to use. Some images from PPT and Word are actually pulled from the Web, and you should locate and cite the original image if possible. You can find the original source using the URL, or using Google Reverse Image Search.
  • Anything taken from the “insert images” section in PowerPoint is likely not that program’s clip art and needs to be cited.
Stock image citations

Figure note: 

Note. Source: (BananaStock, n.d.)

Reference List:

BananaStock. (n.d.). Group of children [Photograph]. Canva. https://www.canva.com/

Please note that these APA citations do not have a hanging indent. Your citations should.
Author(s). (Year). Title. Description. URL (if applicable)

If using a print version:

Tisch, D. (2012). Ground breaking launch for Ripley's Aquarium of Canada. Work sample submitted for award by the Canadian Public Relations Society.

If using an online version:

Noble, J. (2016). Know your snow zone. Work sample submitted for accreditation by the Canadian Public Relations Society. https://librarysearch.mtroyal.ca/discovery/delivery/01MTROYAL_INST:02MTROYAL_INST/12175039900004656

Please note that these APA citations do not have a hanging indent. Your citations should.

Author(s). (Year). Title. (Type, Insitution). Retrieved from URL

Tang, C. (2009). Chocolate in the lives of undergraduates: an exploratory study of narratives and dreams (Master’s thesis, University of Claresholm). Retrieved from http://dspace.uclaresholm.ca/7859.07

Please note that these APA citations do not have a hanging indent. Your citations should.

If the item is an article or news item, cite as you would articles from other databases. If the item is a case study, or a WARC-generated piece, follow the examples below:

Molson Coors Canada: Passport beer fridge [Case study]. (2015). WARC. https://www-warc-com.libproxy.mtroyal.ca/content/article/cannes/molson-coors-canada-passport-beer-fridge/104647

Cook, V. (2015). Culture vulture, Luxury edition 05. WARC. https://www-warc-com.libproxy.mtroyal.ca/content/article/atticus/culture-vulture-luxury-edition-05/105044

Please note that these APA citations do not have a hanging indent. Your citations should.

If retrieved from collections of proceedings: 
Author(s). (Year, Month). Title of paper. Name of Larger Conference Proceedings Site. Retrieved from URL

MacMillan, M., & Mackenzie, A. (2012, June). Strategies for integrating information literacy and academic literacy: Helping undergraduate students make the most of scholarly articles. Proceedings, 33rd Annual IATUL Conference. Retrieved from http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/2012/papers/16/

If retrieved from other kinds of websites (author's sites etc.):

McGillicuddy, C. (2012, September 8). Chocolate as anxiety-reduction mechanism for stressed out students. Paper presented at the Fifth Canadian Conference on Chocolate-Related Self-Care, Calgary, Canada. Retrieved from http://www.mcgill.ca/~mcgillicuddy/chocoholicsmuch.htm