essay figure reference

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APA 7th Referencing Style Guide

• Figures (graphs and images)
• Referencing & APA style
• In-text citation
• Elements of a reference
• Format & examples of a reference list
• Conferences
• Reports & grey literature

General guidelines

From a book, from an article, from a library database, from a website, citing your own work.

• Theses and dissertations
• Audio works
• Films, TV & video
• Visual works
• Computer software, games & apps
• Lecture notes & Intranet resources
• Legal resources
• Personal communications
• PowerPoint slides
• Social media
• Specific health examples
• Standards & patents
• Websites & webpages
• Footnotes and appendices
• Frequently asked questions

A figure may be a chart, a graph, a photograph, a drawing, or any other illustration or nontextual depiction. Any type of illustration or image other than a table is referred to as a figure.

Figure Components

• Number:  The figure number (e.g., Figure 1 ) appears above the figure in bold (no period finishing).
• Title: The figure title appears one double-spaced line below the figure number in Italic Title Case  (no period finishing).
• Image: The image portion of the figure is the chart, graph, photograph, drawing, or illustration itself.
• Legend: A figure legend, or key, if present, should be positioned within the borders of the figure and explain any symbols used in the figure image.
• Note: A note may appear below the figure to describe contents of the figure that cannot be understood from the figure title, image, and/or legend alone (e.g., definitions of abbreviations, copyright attribution). Not all figures include notes. Notes are flush left, non-italicised. If present they begin with Note. (italicised, period ending). The notes area will include reference information if not an original figure, and copyright information as required.

General rules

• In the text, refer to every figure by its number, no italics, but with a capital "F" for "Figure". For example, "As shown in Figure 1, ..." 
• There are two options for the placement of figures in a paper. The first option is to place all figures on separate pages after the reference list. The second option is to embed each figure within the text.
• If you reproduce or adapt a figure from another source (e.g., an image you found on the internet), you should include a copyright attribution in the figure note, indicating the origin of the reproduced or adapted material, in addition to a reference list entry for the work. Include a permission statement (Reprinted or Adapted with permission) only if you have sought and obtained permission to reproduce or adapt material in your figure. A permission statement is not required for material in the public domain or openly licensed material. For student course work, AUT assignments and internal assessments, a permission statement is also not needed, but copyright attribution is still required.
• Important note for postgraduate students and researchers: If you wish to reproduce or adapt figures that you did not create yourself in your thesis, dissertation, exegesis, or other published work, you must obtain permission from the copyright holder/s, unless the figure is in the public domain (copyright free), or licensed for use with a Creative Commons or other open license. Works under a  Creative Commons licence  should be cited accordingly. See Using works created by others for more information. 

Please check the APA style website for an illustration of the basic figure component & placement of figure in a text.

More information & examples from the   APA Style Manual , s. 7.22-7.36,    pp. 225–250

Figure reproduced in your text

Note format - for notes below the figure

In-text citation:

Reference list entry:

Referring to a figure in a book

If you refer to a figure included in a book but do not include it in your text, format the in-text citation and the reference list entry in the usual way, citing the page number where the figure appears.

Note format -  for notes below the figure

Referring to a figure in an article

If you refer to a figure in an article but do not include it in your text, format the in-text citation and the reference list entry in the usual way for an article, citing the page number where the figure appears.

Note format - for notes below the figure

Reference list:

Referring to a figure on a webpage

If you refer to a figure on a webpage and do not include it in your text, format the in-text citation and the reference list entry in the usual way for a webpage,

Not every reference to an artwork needs a reference list entry. For example, if you refer to a famous painting, as below, it would not need a reference.

Finding image details for your figure caption or reference

• clicking on or hovering your mouse over the image
• looking at the bottom of the image
• looking at the URL
• If there is no title, create a short descriptive one yourself and put it in square brackets e.g. [...]
• For more guidance, see Visual works

If it has been formally published reference your work as you would any other published work.

If the work is available on a website reference it as a webpage (see examples in the webpage section ).

Citing your own figures, graphs or images in an assignment:

• Include the title
• Add a note explaining the content. No copyright attribution is required.
• You can, if you wish, add a statement that it is your own work
• You do not need an in-text citation or add it to your reference list
• See example in APA manual p.247, Figure 7.17 Sample photograph

Great Barrier Island 

Note. Photo of Great Barrier Island taken from Orewa at sunrise. Own work.

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APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Figures

• General Style Guidelines
• One Author or Editor
• Two Authors or Editors
• Three to Five Authors or Editors
• Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
• Article in a Reference Book
• Edition other than the First
• Translation
• Government Publication
• Journal Article with 1 Author
• Journal Article with 2 Authors
• Journal Article with 3–20 Authors
• Journal Article 21 or more Authors
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Basic Web Page
• Web page from a University site
• Web Page with No Author
• Entry in a Reference Work
• Government Document
• Film and Television
• Youtube Video
• Audio Podcast
• Electronic Image
• Twitter/Instagram
• Lecture/PPT
• Conferences
• Secondary Sources
• Citation Support
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Formatting Your Paper

About Citing Sources

For each type of source in this guide, both the general form and an example will be provided.

The following format will be used:

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase) - entry that appears in the body of your paper when you express the ideas of a researcher or author using your own words.  For more tips on paraphrasing check out The OWL at Purdue .

In-Text Citation (Quotation) - entry that appears in the body of your paper after a direct quote.

References - entry that appears at the end of your paper.

When you use a figure in your paper that has been adapted or copied directly from another source, you need to reference the original source.  This reference appears as a caption underneath the figure that you copied or adapted for your paper.

Any image that is reproduced from another source also needs to come with copyright permission; it is not enough just to cite the source.

• Number figures consecutively throughout your paper.
• Figures should be labeled "Figure (number)" ABOVE the figure.
• Double-space the caption that appears under a figure.

General Format 1 (Figure from a Book):

Subject Guide

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Harvard Referencing

• Summarising/Paraphrasing
• Citations/Direct Quotations
• Books (print or online)
• Electronic Journal Article
• Website/Web Document
• Journal/Magazine Article
• Academic publications
• Audiovisual material
• News Article (print or online)
• Figures/Tables
• Public documents
• Performance
• Reference List Example
• More Information

Figures & Graphs

Figures include diagrams and all types of graphs. An i m a ge,  photo, illustration or screenshot  displayed for scientific purposes is classed as a figure.

All figures in your paper must be referred to in the main body of the text. At the bottom of the figure is the title, explaining what the figure is showing and  the legend, i.e. an explanation of what the symbols, acronyms or  colours  mean.

In-text citation:

The in-text reference is placed beneath the legend and title with the heading 'Figure' and starts with a sequential figure number (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2). 

Figure 1: PHYSICAL PRODUCTION, selected commodities, Australia, 2010-11 to 2015-16 ( Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017)

If the source is from a book or journal (print or electronic) or from a web document with page numbers, add the page number to the in-text citation. 

If the figure is altered in any way from the original source, add 'Modified from source', eg.

(Modified from source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017)

In main text:

Production of sugar in Australia was estimated at 34 million tonnes in 2015-16 (Figure 1). 

Reference list:

References should be listed in the Harvard Referencing Style according to format. 

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017, Crops and plantations , Retrieved: 24 February, 2018 from  http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Latestproducts/4632.0.55.001Main%20Features302015-16?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4632.0.55.001&issue=2015-16&num=&view=

Tables are numerical values or text displayed in rows and columns.

Each table should be displayed with a brief explanatory title at the top. 

Number all tables in the order they appear in the text.

Table 27.4 Immunity to selected bacterial infections

( Source: Knox et al. 2014, p. 669. )

If the table is altered in any way from the original source, add 'Modified from source'.

(Modified from source: Knox et al.  2014,  p. 669. )

Some bacteria, like those that cause tuberculosis, have evolved the means of surviving and living within phagocytic macrophages (Table 27.4). 

As Table 27.4 shows, some bacteria , like those that cause tuberculosis, have evolved the means of surviving an d living within phagocytic macrophages. 

Knox, B., Ladiges, P., Evans, B. & Saint, R. 2014,  Biology: an Australian focus , 5th edn,  McGraw-Hill Education, North Ryde, NSW.

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• Study and research support
• Referencing
• Leeds Harvard referencing examples
• table or diagram Figure

Leeds Harvard: Figure, table or diagram

Reference examples.

The full reference should direct the reader to the source (eg the book or website ) from which the item was taken.

Citation examples

Image, figure, table or diagram.

You should provide an in-text citation for any photographs, images, tables, diagrams, graphs, figures or illustrations that you reproduce in your work. The citation would normally be given after the title of the figure, table, diagram, etc.

Example: Figure 1, A four pointed star (Jones, 2015, p.54).

A reference within the text to a table, graph, diagram, etc. taken from a source should include the author, date and page number in brackets to enable the reader to identify the data.

Example: (Jones, 2015, p.33)

If you have already named the author in the text, only the publication year and page number needs to be mentioned in brackets.

Jones (2015, p.33) gave a detailed figures on the rapid increase of trade union membership during the twentieth century.

If the source of the data is not the author's own, but obtained from another source, it becomes a secondary reference and needs to be cited as such.

Example: (United Nations, 1975, cited in Smith, 2016, p.33)

If you use a table/graph, etc. from a source and then adapt it to use in your own assignment, you must make that clear in your reference.

We would suggest something along the lines of: Figure 1, Title, based on Smith, 2005, p.22.

Corporate author

If the item is produced by an organisation, treat the organisation as a "corporate author". This means you can use the name of the organisation instead of that of an individual author. This includes government departments, universities or companies. Cite the corporate author in the text the same way as you would an individual author.

According to a recent report, flu jabs are as important as travel vaccines (Department of Health, 2017).  

Common issues

When you're referencing with Leeds Harvard you may come across issues with missing details, multiple authors, edited books, references to another author's work or online items, to name a few. Here are some tips on how to deal with some common issues when using Leeds Harvard.

Skip straight to the issue that affects you:

• Online items
• URL web addresses
• Multiple authors
• Corporate author(s) or organisation(s)
• Multiple publisher details
• Editions and reprints
• Missing details
• Multiple sources with different authors
• Sources written by the same author in the same year
• Sources with the same author in different years
• Two authors with the same surname in the same year
• The work of one author referred to by another
• Anonymising sources for confidentiality
• Identifying the authors’ family name (surname)

APA 7th referencing style

• About APA 7th
• Printing this guide
• In-text references
• Direct quotations
• Reference list
• Author information
• Additional referencing information
• Using headings
• Book chapter
• Brochure and pamphlets
• ChatGPT and other generative AI tools
• Conferences
• Dictionary or encyclopaedia

Referencing figures

Figure caption format.

• Government legislation
• Journal article
• Lecture notes and slides
• Legal sources
• Newspaper or magazine article
• Other web sources
• Patents and standards
• Personal communication
• Press (media) release
• Secondary source (indirect citation)
• Social media
• Software and mobile apps
• Specialised health information
• Television program
• Works in non-English languages
• Works in non-English scripts, such as Arabic or Chinese
• Each figure needs to be numbered in the order in which they appear in the document.
• If a figure is being reproduced for inclusion in a work which is being published, you must seek permission from the copyright holder . This permission must also be included in the caption.
• Each figure must have a figure number in bold font above the figure.
• Figure setup.
• Provide each figure with a brief explanatory title. Capitalize the figure title in italic title case. Place title one double spaced line below the figure number.
• A caption should be included the bottom of the figure to acknowledge that the figure has been reproduced from another source.
• Include the full reference in the reference list.
• Examples of figures with copyright attributions.

Journal Article

Book chapter.

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• Library Catalogue

Citing tables, figures & images: APA (7th ed.) citation guide

On this page, introduction, general guidelines, examples for citing figures & images, examples for citing tables.

This guide is based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed. It provides selected citation examples for common types of sources. For more detailed information consult directly a  print copy  of the style manual.

Check out APA's Guide to what's new for APA 7 .

Keep track of your document references/citations and format your reference lists easily with Citation management software .

Tables and figures (includes images) follow similar set up and formatting. The guidelines below focus on common examples used by students for academic papers . For details on creating tables or figures for submission to journals or graduate theses, see APA's Tables and figures or consult the guide directly (Section 7, pp. 195–250).

Wondering if you can use that image you found online? Refer to SFU's Copyright and your coursework or the FAQ What is fair dealing? for guidelines on use.

• All figures and tables must be mentioned in the text (a "callout") by their number. Do not refer to the table/figure using either "the table above" or "the figure below."
• Assign table/figure # in the order as it appears, numbered consecutively, in your paper - not the figure # assigned to it in its original resource.
• A note is added when further description, for example, definitions or copyright attribution, is necessary to explain the figure or table. Most student papers will require a general note for copyright attribution and acknowledgement whether it is reprinted or adapted from another source. Consult the guide directly for detailed instructions on formatting notes (Section 7.14, pp. 203–205).
• For copyright attribution templates , consult Table 12.1 on page 390 of the guide (Section 12.18, pp. 389-390).
• If permission is required for reprinting or adapting, at the end of the citation place: Reprinted with permission or  Adapted with permission followed by a period.
• All the sources must have a full bibliographic entry in your Reference List .
• Review your figure/table against the appropriate checklist found only in the guide (Sections 7.20, Table, p. 206 and 7.35, Figure, p. 232).

Order of components

Above the figure/table.

• Write " Figure " or " Table " in bold font, flush left, followed by the number, for example, Figure 1 .
• Write the figure/table title using italic case below the figure/table number,
• Double-space the figure/table number and title,
• Embed image.

Below the figure/table

• On a new line below the figure/table, flush left, place Note. Provide further details/explanation about the information in the figure/table only if necessary. State if material is reprinted or adapted —use " From " if reprinted or " Adapted from " if adapted. Followed directly by the copyright attribution —this is basically the same information as found in the reference list entry but in a different order.
• Separate figure/table from the text with one blank double-spaced line.

Placement in paper

• embed in the text after it is first mentioned or,
• place on a separate page after the reference list (an appendix).
• When embedding all figures and tables are aligned with the left margin .
• All examples in this guide show embedded figures and tables.

Refer directly to the guide for more detailed notes on placement (Section 7.6, p. 198).

Figures include: images found online, maps , graphs , charts, drawings, and photographs, or any other illustration or non-textual depiction in printed or electronic resources.

See APA's Figure set up for detailed information on the basic components of a figure, principles of creation, and placement in papers with formatting requirements, or consult the guide directly (Section 7.22–7.36, pp. 225–250).

Review APA's guide for Accessible use of colour in table/figures for best practices.

Exact copy from a single source (aka reprinted)

The following example is when it is reproduced in your paper exactly as it appears in another source : Same format or state, no reconfiguration or new analysis.

Compiled from variety of sources

The following example is for citing a figure that you have created by compiling information from a variety of sources. For example, if you combined data from a database, a website , and a government report to create a new chart. Each source requires a copyright attribution in a general note and full bibliographic entry in the Reference List.

See APA's Clip art or stock image references ,  Image with no attribution required ,  Image requires an attribution , or consult the guide directly (Section 12.14–12.18, pp. 384–390 ).

Citing but not reproducing the image? See Visual: Artwork in museum, PowerPoint slides, photographs, clipart/stock image, maps retrieved online in this guide for examples or consult the guide directly (Section 10.14, pp. 346–347).

Image with attribution

Reference list examples

Beletsky, Y. (2013).  Three planets dance over La Silla [Photograph]. European Southern Observatory. https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1322a/

Euromonitor International. (2020). [Statistical data on market sizes of fresh food]. Passport . Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://go.euromonitor.com/passport.html

FranceAgriMer. (2020, September). Consommation des produits carnes en 2019 . https://www.franceagrimer.fr/content/download/64994/document/STA-VIA-Consommation%20des%20produits%20carn%C3%A9s%20en%202019.pdf

Natural Resources Institute Finland. (2020). Consumption of food commodities per capita by year and commodity [Statistics database]. http://statdb.luke.fi/PXWeb/sq/d1b368d7-9c07-4efd-b727-13e57db90ee6

Okemasim–Sicotte, D. R., Gingell, S., & Bouvier, R. (2018). Iskwewuk E–wichiwitochik. In K. Anderson, M. Campbell, & C. Belcourt (Eds.), Keetsahnak /Our missing and murdered Indigenous sisters (pp. 243–269). University of Alberta Press.

Irish, J. (2019).  Sequoia National Park.  [Photograph]. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/north-america/united-states/61-national-parks-photos/#/giant-tree-trail-sequoia-national-park.jpg

Drewes, W. (n.d.).  Frog and insects (no.200) . [Painting]. The Smithsonian Institution. https://www.si.edu/object/saam_1968.9.50

• See the General Notes in this guide for help with creating citations with missing information , e.g. using a description if no title—see Euromonitor International in the reference list above.
• For figures compiled from multiple sources, identify individual source information using the following format in the "From" statement: Note . The data for Country Name are from [copyright attribution according to source]. End each copyright attribution with a period.
• Use author-date in-text citation when the data is transformed (reconfigured or reanalyzed) to produce different numbers. (Section 12.15 Data subsection, p. 385).
• If work is published or read online, use live links—check with your instructor for their preference.

Tables are characterized by a row-column structure. See APA's Table set up for detailed information on the basic components of a table, principles of creation, and placement in papers with formatting requirements, or consult the guide directly (Section 7.8–7.21, pp. 199–224).

Exact copy from a single source (aka reprint)

If you have compiled data from a variety of different sources and put it together to form your own table, you still need to cite where you got the information from. Each source requires a copyright attribution in a general note and full bibliographic entry in the Reference List.

British Columbia Ministry of Health. (2019). Baby’s most chosen names in British Columbia, 2019 . https://connect.health.gov.bc.ca/babynames?year=2019

eHealth Saskatchewan. (2019). Most popular baby names for 2019 . https://www.ehealthsask.ca/health-data/babynames/Pages/mostpopular2019.aspx

Government of Alberta. (2019). Alberta’s top baby names . https://www.alberta.ca/top-baby-names.aspx

Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency . (2020). Annual report 2019-2020 . https://vitalstats.gov.mb.ca/pdf/2020_vs_annual_report_en.pdf

Williams, C. L. (1992). The glass escalator: Hidden advantages for men in the "female" professions. Social Problems , 39 (3), 253-267. https://doi.org/10.2307/3096961

• For tables compiled from multiple sources, in the "From" statement, identify each individual source information. e.g.: Note . The data for Country Name are from [copyright attribution according to source]. End each copyright attribution with a period.
• ​If you have multiple kinds of data (population figures, consumer information, etc...) in one table you would describe each set of data. e.g.: Note.  Population figures for XYZ are from [ copyright attribution according to source ] and for ABC are from [ copyright attribution according to source ]. Data for pet ownership for XYZ are from [ copyright attribution according to source ] and for ABC are from [ copyright attribution according to source ]. End each copyright attribution with a period.
• Use an author-date in-text citation when the data is transformed (reconfigured or reanalyzed) to produce different numbers. (Section 12.15 Data subsection, p. 385).
• All the sources must have a full bibliographic entry in your Reference List even though the information in the Note  field uses a lot of the same information.
• If work is published or read online, APA recommends using live links— check with your instructor for their preference.

Referencing: Figures, Tables, & Images

Referencing for figures & tables.

The Publication Manual of the APA has a chapter on the formatting and construction of tables and figures (which includes images, charts, graphs, photographs, drawings, etc.). These rules are largely aimed at those who intend to publish their work. Samples are available on the APA Style website, for tables and figures .

If you are a coursework student, you may be expected to use a modified version of these rules, at the discretion of your unit coordinator.

As a student, you are expected to acknowledge the source of any image you did not create - even free images, stock images, and clip art from the internet. This is an academic integrity requirement.

Images, graphs, and tables created by another person are subject to copyright rules. If you are writing a thesis/dissertation, or plan to publish your work, you usually will not be able to use these items without permission from the copyright holder, in addition to following the guidelines below.

When you use a figure or table from another source in your work, it is important to include appropriate citations.

• If you're simply referring to an image or table in your work, then cite the source as you would cite any other type of work, both in-text and in the reference list.
• If you are  using data  from another source but the table organisation is your own, cite each source as you would cite any other type of work.
• If you are reproducing the image or table in your work, even just a part of it, you must include figure/table notes  with an APA Style copyright permission statement (see below), and an end-text reference  for the source of the image or table. Some examples are shown in the notes to the figures on the APA Style website .

The exact style of formatting and referencing depends on what sources you have used. See below for explanations and examples.

Video: Referencing & notes for visual art

For a brief overview of referencing visual art using APA style, view the 9-minute video below:

If you are including an image or graph in your work that was created by another person, it is considered a reproduced figure . When reproducing a figure, you should include:

Figure 1 shows the common characteristics ... As represented in artistic works from this era (see Figures 2 and 8) ...

• The label (figure number) and title . Above the figure, each image or graph is numbered, starting from Figure 1 (the first figure that is mentioned in your work). The figure number is in bold. On the next line, give a brief descriptive title, in italics and title case .
• The figure  or image itself, including a legend or key if necessary. Any words in the legend should be in title case.
• Begin with the word Note in italics and a full stop.
• Include acknowledgements and copyright statement here if the image is reproduced or adapted from another source. This will contain the same elements as an end-text reference, but written slightly differently. Coursework students , please check with your lecturer to see how much detail they require.
• Specific notes or notes about probability begin on a new line (see the example in Reproducing a table... below).
• In your reference list , a reference to the source (e.g., journal article, website, etc.) where the image can be retrieved.

More information from the APA Style website: formatting figures ; examples . See also the Visual Arts guide: referencing images .

Figure 18 Detail of a Pendant from a Painting of Margaret of Austria Note.  The pendant symbolises the virtue of the subject. Adapted from  Margaret of Austria , by J. Hey, [ca. 1490] (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/459072). In the public domain.

In this example, this image is a portion of the original painting, cropped to show only the detail desired. Because this has  altered the original , rather than reproducing it exactly as it originally appeared, use "Adapted from" instead of "From" to introduce the source. No copyright statement is required on this item because it is in the public domain: there is no longer a copyright holder for this work. Read more about copyright.

Note that the formatting and order of reference elements are quite different in the reference in figure and table notes. See Citing sources and copyright statements in notes for more information.

If you are reusing a table (or part of a table) from another source, even if you have adapted it to suit your purposes, it is considered to be a reproduced table and you will need to include a reference and attribution just as you would for an image or figure.

If you are using data from another source (published or unpublished, from one or multiple sources), you should use this format unless you have reconfigured or reanalysed the data. The presentation of data is subject to copyright and should also have an attribution and copyright statement for each source. If you have reanalysed the data, or if it was not presented in a table in the original source, follow these instructions instead .

When reproducing a table, you should include:

• A reference to the table in-text . e.g. As demonstrated in Table 1...
• The label (table number) and title : Place the table number at the top in bold, then the title below the table number, and the table itself directly under the title. The title should be in italics and title case (see Glossary ), with no full stop.
• Table notes : In a note underneath the table, give any information needed to explain or clarify information in the table. Begin with the word Note in italics. Include acknowledgements here if the table is reproduced from another source or uses data from another source. Specific notes or notes about probability begin on a new line.
• In your reference list , an end-text reference for the source of any reproduced tables or data.

More information from the APA Style website: formatting tables ; examples .

Table 1 Expanding Vocabulary Using Locational Compounds Stem Location Compound gyibaaw ts'maks a gyibaawmts'maks b 'wolf' 'in water' 'eel' Note . From  Fighting Language Endangerment  (p. 138), by T. Stebbins, 2020, La Trobe eBureau. Copyright 2020 by La Trobe University. CC BY-NC-ND (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). a  Here, ts' indicates an ejective affricative phoneme. b Dependency marker -m is added when including a noun in a compound word.

This example shows how to format  specific notes  that refer to particular parts of your table. Place specific notes in a separate paragraph from the general notes, using superscript letters to refer to the row, column, or cell in question. If your table includes a probability note, this should also begin on a new line. The APA Style website has an example of a table with a probability note.

If you have created a table using information from multiple sources, how you cite sources depends on the context.

• Reusing data in a table that was presented in a table in the original source should include an attribution and copyright statement, if the presentation of the data is similar to the original source - that is, if you used not just the data but some of the way the table was set up in one of the sources (even if it was just one line from their table). Follow the instructions for reproducing a table from another source , using the phrase "Adapted from" if you made some changes. You may need to include multiple acknowledgements, if multiple lines come from different sources.
• If you are extracting data from separate sources or from multiple sections in an article or book, and you "reconfigured or reanalyzed [the data] to produce different numbers" (American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 385), then you may be able to use just an author-date style to cite each source, as in the examples below.
• This format for citing sources may be appropriate for coursework students submitting an assessment in class, if the unit coordinator has approved a modified style.

Table 1 Incoming and Outgoing Data Packages Recorded on Primary Database Port Incoming Outgoing 00000 (2018)  a 56 49 00000 (2021)  b 21 20 00004 (2018)  c 6 4 00004 (2021)  b 6 6 Note . This table shows signal measurements at the time of the incident, and signals measured through those ports during the same time period in 2021. a Perera et al. (2019, p. 22). b Data from 2021 is self-recorded. c Martin and Choi (2018, p. 39).

In this example, the layout and presentation of the data is different to the way they were displayed in the source articles, so only an in-text citation is needed. Place the a ,  b , c  in your table in a way that makes clear which data comes from each source.

A further explanation (with examples) can be found on the APA style blog: Navigating Copyright: How to Cite Sources in a Table . This blog is written by staff of the American Psychological Association, the body that produced the APA Style Guide.  Please note that this blog post was written using a previous version of APA style, so the references will no longer be correct. Use this page as guidance on the concept only.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

The end-text reference gives the details of the source , i.e. the book, journal article, or webpage where you found the figure or table. You don't need to reference the image or table separately in your reference list. If a table from a book was used, reference the book. For example:

Assael, M. J. (1998). Thermophysical properties of fluids . Imperial College Press.

The exact form will depend on the type of source used. Follow the examples on the Reference Examples page.

In addition to explanatory information, a table or figure note should include:

• A citation for the source of the figure, table, or data (if not your own work).
• A copyright notice: Copyright Year by Name of Copyright Holder.
• Used under fair dealing provision.
• In the public domain.
• Creative Commons license code.
• Reprinted [or adapted] with permission.

Copyright and Permissions Tutorial

Learn how to acknowledge copyright when reproducing or adapting copyrighted work, including when to acknowledge copyright, how to abide by principles of fair use, and how to reproduce material from the Internet.

Note that this material was written based on US law. The legal & fair use portions are not all applicable at ECU. See the link at the bottom of this box for information on copyright in an Australian context.

Academic Writer

© 2020 American Psychological Association.

The exact format of the citation will differ depending on the source, but the information will be largely the same as what is included in your end-text reference for the source. To format your citation, begin with either "From" or "Adapted from", and format the source information as below. You might need to omit some elements to fit your source.

Formatting note: in figure/table notes, use the same formatting you would use when discussing a work within your own text: all titles are capitalised using title case; the titles of stand-alone works (e.g. books, reports, webpages) are in italics, and titles of works that are a part of a larger whole (e.g. chapters, articles) are enclosed in quotation marks; write out the word "and" between authors instead of using an ampersand. Do not use a hanging indent.

Journal article

"Title of Article," by A. A. Author and B. Author, year, Title of Journal, volume (issue), p. x (DOI).

Book or report

Title of the Work (p. x), by A. A. Author, year, Publisher/Organisation (DOI or URL).

Chapter in an edited book

"Title of Chapter," by A. A. Author, in E. Editor (Ed.), Title of Edited Book (xth ed., p. x), year, Publisher (DOI or URL).

Webpage or streaming video

Title of the Webpage or Video , by A. A. Author, year, Website Name (URL).

For more examples, see section 12.18 of the APA 7th manual , specifically Tables 12.1 and 12.2.

Copyright notice

The copyright holder might be the publisher, the author, or another person entirely. Use the format:

Copyright YYYY by Copyright Holder.

Permission statement

The permission statement will depend on the purpose of your use and the license conditions of the source. If you are using a table or image in a coursework unit assignment for educational purposes only, your use may be covered under fair dealing provisions. If you are planning to publish your work, either officially or online, you may need to seek further permission from the copyright holder.

More information is available on the Visual Art guide to referencing images . For information on copyright: Referencing & Copyright .

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Textual References to Figures and Tables

When integrating references to figures and tables within your text, follow these guidelines:

• Number figures and tables consecutively in the text, beginning with the number 1. Be sure to number figures and tables separately from each other.
• Capitalize the "t" in "table" and the "f" in "figure" when you refer to a specific table or figure created in your text. (Some journals do not follow this convention, but most do.)
• "Table 3 and 4" is incorrect because each table is a separate entity. If you refer to more than one table or figure at a time, pluralize the reference. "Tables 3 and 4" is correct.
• Introduce figures and tables in your text in logical places and in logical ways. In some cases, it may simply be appropriate to write "see Figure 7" in parentheses at the end of a paragraph that prepared the reader to view the figure; in other cases, it is appropriate to introduce a figure or table at the beginning of the paragraph and build the entire paragraph around it.
• In your body text, always spell out the point that you want your reader to get from your figure or table. Example:

As Figure 8 indicates, the modulus of the transverse direction was always equal to or greater than the modulus of the machine direction.

• Use some of your body text to interpret a table or figure, but only to a sensible degree, and after it is introduced rather than before. When interpreting, avoid needless redundancy. If your pie chart shows percentages for the market distribution of platinum, say, there is no point in your repeating all these percentages in your body text unless you have something meaningful to say about them.
• When a reference to a table or a figure is a sentence subject, match it with an interpretive verb to describe the work that the table or figure performs. Examples:

Figure 2 illustrates the predominant orientation of acicular particles in magnetic storage material. Figure 5 compares two magnetization curves for hard and soft magnetic materials.

• "Show" is generally a safe verb to use to describe a table or figure, but beware of overusing it or using it too loosely. Good alternatives to "show" include "display," "demonstrate," "illustrate," "depict" (for figures), and "list" (for tables). As always, search for the best verb to describe your figure or table. For ideas on active verbs you can use to refer to figures and tables, see the handy table on the " Using Active Verbs " page in chapter 1 of this manual.

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Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

How to Reference Tables and Figures in Text

By Erin Wright

Before we begin, let’s define tables and figures.

What Are Tables and Figures?

The definition of tables is quite narrow: tables are collections of data arranged in rows and columns.

But figures have a much broader scope. In fact, figures can be any of the following:

• illustrations (e.g., line drawings, sketches, diagrams)
• artwork (e.g., copies of paintings, etchings, woodcuts)
• charts and graphs (e.g., pie charts, bar graphs, scatter plots)
• samples of written music

*Some publishers don’t use the term figure for maps. 1

Now let’s look at the guidelines for referencing tables and figures in text.

1. Refer to Tables and Figures before They Appear in Your Document

Traditionally, tables and figures should be mentioned in a sentence before they appear in the document. This first reference is important because it helps your readers understand the connection between the tables and figures with the rest of the text.

You can also refer to tables and figures again after they appear in the document, if necessary.

2. Consult Your Style Guide before Capitalizing the Words Table and Figure

The words table and figure are always capitalized in figure captions and table titles . However, our primary style guides conflict on when we should capitalize table and figure in references within sentences.

The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago Style) and the Modern Language Association’s MLA Handbook (MLA style) recommend lowercasing the words table and figure within in-sentence references (unless those words appear at the start of a sentence, of course). 2

As shown in figure 12 , widget sales have increased by 500% over the last five years.

Conversely, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA style) and the American Medical Association’s AMA Manual of Style (AMA style) recommend capitalizing the words table and figure in references within sentences. 3

BigCorp’s products are listed in Table 5 along with pricing, accessories, and delivery options.

If you don’t adhere to a specific guide, choose the style that is most common in your industry or the style you believe will best serve your readers.

3. Include Parenthetical References within Sentences

Parenthetical references to figures and tables should be placed within the related sentence, not as a standalone sentence within parentheses.

Attach the metal legs to the underside of the tabletop (see figure 8) .

The boarding facility records each pet’s favorite foods and toys (see table 10) as well as illnesses and medications (see table 11) .

Capitalization of the words table and figure within parenthetical references will depend on your style guide, as explained in section 2 above.

4. Use Numerals for Table and Figure Numbers

The identification numbers for tables and figures (e.g., table 2, figure 14) should be written as numerals within sentences even if your style guide normally recommends spelling out that number because it falls below ten or 100.

Number sequencing is separate for tables and figures, so you can have a table 1 and a figure 1.

5. Use Caution When Abbreviating the Word Figure

The guidelines vary for abbreviating the word figure as fig ., so proceed carefully if you want to use the abbreviation.

The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago style) says that the abbreviation fig. can be used—but only in parenthetical references. 4

The artist’s focus shifted perspective in the 1930s (see fig. 5) .

The Modern Language Association’s MLA Handbook (MLA style) prefers the abbreviation fig. in all instances. 5 Note that MLA style favors parenthetical references over those integrated directly into sentences (e.g., “As shown in fig. 44, polydactyl cats have six toes”). 6

Scientists have discovered a new plant species in the Midwest (see fig. 7) .

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA style) and the AMA Manual of Style (AMA style) both appear to be silent on the issue of abbreviating the word figure , so you can safely assume that you should spell out—and capitalize—the word figure in all references if you follow either of those guides. 7

Insert the wooden dowel into part B (see Figure 23) .

If you aren’t sure which style guide to follow, I always suggest Chicago style for general writing and business writing. You can learn more about the differences between our primary style guides in my blog post “ Which Style Guide Is Best for You? ”

Regardless of which guideline you prefer for referencing tables and figures, be sure to maintain a consistent style throughout your document.

Related Resources

How to Cross-Reference Tables and Figures in Microsoft Word

Three Ways to Insert Tables in Microsoft Word

How to Create and Customize Charts in Microsoft Word

How to Insert Figure Captions and Table Titles in Microsoft Word

How to Change the Style of Table Titles and Figure Captions in Microsoft Word

How to Update Table and Figure Numbers in Microsoft Word

How to Create and Update a List of Tables or Figures in Microsoft Word

• The Chicago Manual of Style , 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017), 3.5.
• “Tables and Illustrations,” Formatting a Research Paper, The MLA Style Center, accessed March 5, 2019, https://style.mla.org/formatting-papers/#tablesandillustrations ; The Chicago Manual of Style , 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017), 3.9, 3.50.
• AMA Manual of Style , 10th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 378; Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7th ed. (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2020), 7.5.
• The Chicago Manual of Style , 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017), 3.9.
• Sample Papers in MLA Style, accessed March 5, 2019, https://style.mla.org/sample-papers/ . See the second example paper titled “Second-year course in African American Studies”; “Tables and Illustrations,” Formatting a Research Paper, The MLA Style Center, accessed March 5, 2019, https://style.mla.org/formatting-papers/#tablesandillustrations.
• “MLA Tables, Figures, and Examples,” Purdue Online Writing Lab, accessed March 5, 2019, http://bit.ly/2FNG1AB .
• AMA Manual of Style , 10th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 81–122; Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7th ed. (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2020), 7.5.
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How to Cite Figures in APA

Last Updated: April 4, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff . Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 191,866 times. Learn more...

Figures like a chart, graph, or image are great sources when you want to support your ideas in an essay or paper. You may need to cite figures in APA for an essay or paper for a class. Whether you are citing a figure from a book, an article, or a website, you can create a citation and format it properly in APA in just a few simple steps.

Creating the Citation

• For example, if the figure is the first figure to appear in the paper, you would start the citation with, “ Figure 1 .” If the figure is the fourth figure to appear in the paper, the citation would start with, “ Figure 4 .”

• For example, if you are citing a graph with statistics, you may write, “Graph of statistics on household income in Canada in 2010.” Or if you are citing an image, you may write, “Black and white photograph of Martha Graham in the Vienna Performance Hall.”

• For example, you may write in a citation for a book, “Reprinted from The Life of Martha Graham (p 84).”
• For a citation for an article, you may write, “Adapted from ‘Statistics Canada Reveals Shift in Census.’”
• If you are citing a figure from a website, you may write, “Reprinted from The Huffington Post.”

• For example, you may write, “...by K.L. Lee” or “...by B. Lork and M. Casper.”

• If you are using an article reference, include the year the article was published as well as the name of the journal and the number of the volume where the article appears in italics. List the page number where you found the figure in the article as well.
• For example, you may write, “2017, Statistics Canada , 56 , p. 103” or “2002, Children Today , 14 , p. 90.”
• If the reference is a website, note the year the figure was published on the website, if available. If it is not available, use “n.d.” for “no date.” Then, note, “Retrieved from” and the URL of the website.
• For example, you may write, “2008, Retrieved from http://www.statisticscanada.com” or “n.d., Retrieved from http://www.childrentoday.org.”

• For example, you may write, “Copyright 217 by the Statistics Canada Bureau” or “Copyright 2012 by the Children Choice Organization.”
• If you cannot find copyright information for the figure, you can leave this information out.

• A complete citation for a figure from a book would be: “ Figure 1 . Black and white photograph of Martha Graham in the Vienna Performance Hall. Reprinted from The Life of Martha Graham (p 84), by K.L. Lee, 2008, New York, NY: Homer Press. Copyright 2008 by the Modern Dance School.”
• A complete citation for a figure from an article would be: “ Figure 4 . Graph of statistics on household income in Canada in 2010. Adapted from ‘Statistics Canada Reveals Shift in Census,’ by B.Lork and M.Casper, 2017, Statistics Canada , 56 , p. 103. Copyright 217 by the Statistics Canada Bureau.”
• A complete citation for a figure from a website would be: “ Figure 6 . Drawing of a child playing with plastic toys. Reprinted from Children Today, n.d., Retrieved from https://www.childrentoday.org/ . Copyright 2008 by Joan Lee.”

Formatting the Citation

• For example, you may write, “ Figure 4 . Graph of statistics on household income in Canada in 2010. Adapted from ‘Statistics Canada Reveals Shift in Census,’ by B.Lork and M.Casper, 2017, Statistics Canada , 56 , p. 103. Copyright 217 by the Statistics Canada Bureau. Reprinted with permission.”

• For example, a citation in your Reference List for a book would be, "Lee, K.L. 2008. The Life of Martha Graham. New York, NY: Homer Press."

Community Q&A

• You can also cite figures in MLA style for an essay, paper, or class. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/cite-write/citation-style-guides/apa/tables-figures
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_tables_and_figures.html
• ↑ https://guides.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/APA/image-figure
• ↑ https://aut.ac.nz.libguides.com/APA7th/figures
• ↑ https://guides.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/c.php?g=27779&p=170358
• ↑ http://guides.lib.monash.edu/citing-referencing/apa-tables-figures
• ↑ https://ggu.libguides.com/c.php?g=106881&p=694051

About This Article

To cite a figure in APA, start by inserting the figure into your paper and placing the citation right below it. Begin each citation with “Figure” and the number of the figure in italics. Next, include a brief explanation of what the figure refers to, such as “Graph of statistics on household income in 2010.” Then, write “Reprinted from,” followed by the source and page number where you found the figure. Additionally, include the author’s first and last name, if applicable, and the copyright information. To learn how to cite the source of a figure in your paper’s reference list, keep reading. Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Referencing: Images & List of Figures

• Referencing Guide
• In-Text Citation
• Formatting the Bibliography
• Images & List of Figures
• Zotero Referencing Software

What is a List of Figures?

A List of Figures is a complete list of all images and diagrams you reproduce in your written work. 

As with any other material, you must credit the source from which any images you use in your work originated. The List of Figures is where you display all referencing information about images you have reproduced in your work. This is similar to your reference list/bibliography, but is only for images you use.

All images you use in your work need to be included in your List of Figures —this includes artworks, photographs, infographics, graphs, maps, logos, diagrams, charts and tables. It also includes any images you may have created yourself. F igures should not just be used for decoration, they are there to serve a purpose in your work. 

Image from a Book

References to images found in a printed book should be made up of the following elements:

• Creator's Family Name, Initial(s)
• Year of publication (in brackets)
• Title or description of image (in italics)
• [medium of image]
• Author's family name, Initial(s) - (if different to Creator)
• Title of book (in italics)
• Place of publication:
• Page number(s) of image.

Example: Burne-Jones, E. (1880). The golden stairs. [oil on canvas]. In: Wood, C. (1981). The Pre-Raphaelites. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. p.121.

Image from a Magazine/Journal

References should consist of the following elements:

• Creator’s Family Name, Initial(s)
• [medium of image].
• Author’s Family Name, Initial(s) - (if different to Creator)
• Title of Article.
• Title of Journal/Magazine (in italics)
• Volume and Issue Number, or Month
• Page number of image (if applicable)

If accessed online, also include the following:

• Available from: Web Address
• [Accessed: Date]

Examples: Sobierajski, S. and Jeffree, W. (2017). Brand identity for AIGA conference. [illustration]. In: Tucker, E. (2018). A one-way ticket to Tokyo, please. Creative Review. Vol.38 No.4. p.65 or Walker, T. (2016). Model holding feather . [photograph]. In: Boy/Girl/Boy. Vogue Italia . July. Available from: https://www.vogue.it/moda/cover-fashion-stories/2016/07/14/boygirlboy. [Accessed 16 October 2019].

Image from a Museum/Gallery

• Location of collection
• Name of Institution

Example: Beaton, C. (1944). China 1944: a mother resting her head on her sick child's pillow in the Canadian Mission Hospital. [photograph]. London: Imperial War Museum Collection. or Warhol, A. (1967). Marilyn Monroe. [screenprint on paper]. London: V&A. Available from: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O72303/marilyn-monroe-marilyn-print-warhol-andy/. [Accessed 24th March 2022].

Image from Social Media

Use this format for images published on social media platforms. For images that have been reposted from an original source, wherever practicable try to reference the original. References should consist of the following elements:

• Author's Family Name, Initial(s) or screen-name where this is not known
• Year of post (in brackets)
• Title or excerpt of post
• Title of platform (in italics)
• [online image]
• Day and Month of Post

Example: Nef, H. (2017). Space princess defends the Uffizi from aliens (house Medici 2078). Instagram . [online image]. 6 June. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/p/BGVJHgiCyyG/?taken-by=harinef. [Accessed 14 December 2018]

Image from a Website

Care should be taken when sourcing images online, as many websites repost images with key referencing data missing. Wherever possible, use the original source. References should consist of the following elements:

• Available from: Website URL.
• [Accessed date]

Examples: Glaser, M. (1966). Dylan. [online image]. Available from: https://www.moma.org/ collection/ works/8108. [Accessed 12 August 2018]. or Wong, A. (2019). Pierpaolo Piccioli takes his bow. [online image]. Available from: https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/valentino-couture-china. [Accessed 8 November 2018].

AI Generated Images

The full image generated using AI should be included in your work (e.g. essay, presentation, process book), and treated like any other image used in academic work. It should be captioned and referenced in the List of Figures.

The figure reference should be made up of the following elements:

• Name of AI organisation (or tool/platform where this is unavailable).
• Year work was generated.
• Full text prompt used to generate the image.
• Name of tool/platform (if different from above).
• [Generative AI].
• URL of platform.
• Date generated.

The organisation that created the model or the name of the tool itself should be treated as the ‘author’ of the work. Images produced by these technologies are not the product of human authorship, and should not be credited as your own work. The text prompt used to create the image should be used as the ‘title’ of the work.

Different AI tools/platforms (e.g. Dall-E, Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, etc.) may require slightly different referencing details, based on the information they provide.

Figure 2: OpenAI. (2023). ‘Pointillist painting of a sheep in a sunny field of blue flowers’ prompt. DALL-E 2 . [Generative AI]. Available from: labs.openai.com . [Accessed 10 May 2023].

Figure 3: Midjourney. (2023). ‘Tiny cute adorable ginger tabby kitten studio light’ prompt. [Generative AI]. Available from: https://www.midjourney.com/ . [Accessed 19 May 2023].

Screenshot from a Film/Video

Use this format for screenshots/screen captures/screengrabs for films watched on DVD/Blu-Ray or viewed through a streaming service or video-sharing platform. References may differ for other mediums, such as television or video games. Consult the main Referencing Guide for advice on these formats and adapt your reference accordingly.

• Director's Family Name, Initial(s)
• Title of Film or Video (in italics)
• [screenshot].
• Place of Production (if known).
• Production organisation (if known).

Examples: Donen, S. (1957). Funny Face. [screenshot]. Hollywood: Paramount Pictures. or The British Library. (2014). Lucy Tammam: Designer. [screenshot]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnQmKNlku9E. [Accessed 12 January 2020].

Your own Image

When referencing images you have created, such as photographs you have taken, you need to give yourself as the author. References should be made up as the following elements:

• Your Family Name, Initial(s)
• Year of creation (in brackets)
• In possession of: the author.

Example: Smith, J. (2019). Data collected from survey statistics. [pie chart]. In possession of: the author.

Captioning Figures

All figures need to be given a running number (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2 , Figure 3), and this should match its corresponding entry in your List of Figures. Number each figure consecutively. You only have one List of Figures—all artwork, photographs, graphs, tables, etc., should be numbered in the same way.

Include the figure number directly below the figure itself, followed by a short caption relating to the image, if appropriate. Captions are not included in your word count. If used, captions should be brief, appropriate and descriptive, explaining the image and its relevance to your text.

Figures should be displayed close to where they are most relevant to your writing, and should usually be mentioned directly. You can refer to each one by the figure number like an in-text citation, e.g. (Figure 1).

Example List of Figures

This is an example of how a List of Figures should be displayed:

Each figure is numbered in the order that it appears in your work, with a caption relating to the image where appropriate. Underneath the caption, you give the full reference for the image. This reference will vary depending on how you accessed the image —whether in a book, online, in a gallery, or if you created it yourself.

For dissertations or theses, you should also give the page number of your work where you reproduce the image, as you would in a table of contents. 

For artworks, images in library databases and images published in books, you should have all the information you need to provide a full reference. Images found online can present challenges, and are often missing important details needed for referencing. Check the website you found the image on first, to see if there is any further information, or links to where the image originally came from.

If you still need help with referencing images or putting together your List of Figures, contact your Subject Librarian . 

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At times, it may be permissible and appropriate to insert tables, figures and other graphics in your essay. These graphics may have been copied, adapted from sources of information or may be from your own research. They need to be relevant, correctly labelled and referenced—unless they are entirely your own work.

About tables and figures in your writing 

Tables and figures (e.g. diagrams, graphs, photographs, maps) may be used as evidence to support academic argument. They are mostly used in report writing. It is important that tables and figures are used purposefully (i.e. with good reason) and referenced correctly.

Click on ‘Start analysis’ to see how figures can be used in your academic writing.

For ALL tables and figures:

• Labelling—put the label ABOVE for tables and BELOW for figures (e.g. diagrams, graphs, photographs, maps)
• Numbering—make sure that tables and figures (e.g. diagrams, graphs, photographs, maps) are numbered sequentially. There should be two numbering series: one for tables and one for figures (e.g. Table 1. , Table 2. AND Figure 1. , Figure 2. )
• Positioning—place tables and figures immediately below  the paragraph/relevant text
• In-text referencing—refer to the table or figure by number in your writing (e.g. Table 6 shows that …)
• Diagram referencing—provide a reference to an authority if the table or figure is from or adapted from an outside source. If you have created the table or image yourself from your own data collection, you must still use a number and label, but no reference is required
• Larger tables and figures—place large (one page and over) tables or figures in the appendices (see ASO Factsheet: Appendices  )

Don’t do this! 

• Don’t restructure data from an information source into another format (e.g. a graph, a flowchart) without referencing the author of your information. You may structure the graph, but the author still ‘owns’ the research!
• Don’t just ‘plonk’ a table or figure into your writing. You need to refer to its existence and relevance to your argument in the preceding text.
• Don’t give extensive descriptions in your writing of the contents of a table or diagram. The information in a table or diagram tells its own story—it’s your job to point out its significance to your argument.

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A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples

Published on 14 February 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 15 September 2023.

Referencing is an important part of academic writing. It tells your readers what sources you’ve used and how to find them.

Harvard is the most common referencing style used in UK universities. In Harvard style, the author and year are cited in-text, and full details of the source are given in a reference list .

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Harvard in-text citation, creating a harvard reference list, harvard referencing examples, referencing sources with no author or date, frequently asked questions about harvard referencing.

A Harvard in-text citation appears in brackets beside any quotation or paraphrase of a source. It gives the last name of the author(s) and the year of publication, as well as a page number or range locating the passage referenced, if applicable:

Note that ‘p.’ is used for a single page, ‘pp.’ for multiple pages (e.g. ‘pp. 1–5’).

An in-text citation usually appears immediately after the quotation or paraphrase in question. It may also appear at the end of the relevant sentence, as long as it’s clear what it refers to.

When your sentence already mentions the name of the author, it should not be repeated in the citation:

Sources with multiple authors

When you cite a source with up to three authors, cite all authors’ names. For four or more authors, list only the first name, followed by ‘ et al. ’:

Sources with no page numbers

Some sources, such as websites , often don’t have page numbers. If the source is a short text, you can simply leave out the page number. With longer sources, you can use an alternate locator such as a subheading or paragraph number if you need to specify where to find the quote:

Multiple citations at the same point

When you need multiple citations to appear at the same point in your text – for example, when you refer to several sources with one phrase – you can present them in the same set of brackets, separated by semicolons. List them in order of publication date:

Multiple sources with the same author and date

If you cite multiple sources by the same author which were published in the same year, it’s important to distinguish between them in your citations. To do this, insert an ‘a’ after the year in the first one you reference, a ‘b’ in the second, and so on:

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

A bibliography or reference list appears at the end of your text. It lists all your sources in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, giving complete information so that the reader can look them up if necessary.

The reference entry starts with the author’s last name followed by initial(s). Only the first word of the title is capitalised (as well as any proper nouns).

Sources with multiple authors in the reference list

As with in-text citations, up to three authors should be listed; when there are four or more, list only the first author followed by ‘ et al. ’:

Reference list entries vary according to source type, since different information is relevant for different sources. Formats and examples for the most commonly used source types are given below.

• Entire book
• Book chapter
• Translated book
• Edition of a book

Journal articles

• Print journal
• Online-only journal with DOI
• Online-only journal with no DOI
• General web page
• Online article or blog
• Social media post

Sometimes you won’t have all the information you need for a reference. This section covers what to do when a source lacks a publication date or named author.

No publication date

When a source doesn’t have a clear publication date – for example, a constantly updated reference source like Wikipedia or an obscure historical document which can’t be accurately dated – you can replace it with the words ‘no date’:

Note that when you do this with an online source, you should still include an access date, as in the example.

When a source lacks a clearly identified author, there’s often an appropriate corporate source – the organisation responsible for the source – whom you can credit as author instead, as in the Google and Wikipedia examples above.

When that’s not the case, you can just replace it with the title of the source in both the in-text citation and the reference list:

Harvard referencing uses an author–date system. Sources are cited by the author’s last name and the publication year in brackets. Each Harvard in-text citation corresponds to an entry in the alphabetised reference list at the end of the paper.

Vancouver referencing uses a numerical system. Sources are cited by a number in parentheses or superscript. Each number corresponds to a full reference at the end of the paper.

A Harvard in-text citation should appear in brackets every time you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source.

The citation can appear immediately after the quotation or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence. If you’re quoting, place the citation outside of the quotation marks but before any other punctuation like a comma or full stop.

In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’

Though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a difference in meaning:

• A reference list only includes sources cited in the text – every entry corresponds to an in-text citation .
• A bibliography also includes other sources which were consulted during the research but not cited.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, September 15). A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 22 April 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-style/

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Couch (2017) suggests that . . .

• List the authors names in the same order as they appear in the article.
• Go to Getting started > In-text citation to view other examples such as multiple authors.

Use tables for exact values and information that is too detailed for the text. Use a table only if there isn't a simpler way to present your content such as a list or a diagram.

Tables should include a caption title row and column headings, information (exact values)

In-text table section

Use Table 1, Table 2 etc to caption tables and refer to them in the text.

See the Style Manual section on tables .

Author A or Name of Agency (Year) Title of data set [data set], Name of Website, accessed DD Month YYYY. URL

National Native Title Tribunal (2014) Native Title determination outcomes [data set], accessed 4 January 2020. data.gov.au/data/dataset/native-title-determination-outcomes

• If no date, use n.d.
• If name of website is the same as author, do not include the name of the website.

Personal communication and confidential unpublished material

A Author, personal communication, Day Month Year.

A Author, Type of Confidential Unpublished Material, Day Month Year.

M Smith (personal communication, 8 February 2020) wrote . . .

The radiologist's findings were further confirmed (P Alan, radiology report, 6 March 2021) . . .

• Don’t include an entry in the reference list.
• Personal communication may include materials such as emails from unarchived sources, private memos or unrecorded interview conversations.
• Confidential material may include medical charts, patient health records and other internal reports containing private information.
• Permission from the source is necessary before paraphrasing or citing from a confidential document.
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MIT Technology Review

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Chatbot answers are all made up. This new tool helps you figure out which ones to trust.

In many high-stakes situations, large language models are not worth the risk. Knowing which outputs to throw out might fix that.

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Large language models are famous for their ability to make things up—in fact, it’s what they’re best at. But their inability to tell fact from fiction has left many businesses wondering if using them is worth the risk.

A new tool created by Cleanlab, an AI startup spun out of a quantum computing lab at MIT, is designed to give high-stakes users a clearer sense of how trustworthy these models really are. Called the Trustworthy Language Model , it gives any output generated by a large language model a score between 0 and 1, according to its reliability. This lets people choose which responses to trust and which to throw out. In other words: a BS-o-meter for chatbots.

Cleanlab hopes that its tool will make large language models more attractive to businesses worried about how much stuff they invent. “I think people know LLMs will change the world, but they’ve just got hung up on the damn hallucinations,” says Cleanlab CEO Curtis Northcutt.

Chatbots are quickly becoming the dominant way people look up information on a computer. Search engines are being redesigned around the technology. Office software used by billions of people every day to create everything from school assignments to marketing copy to financial reports now comes with chatbots built in . And yet a study put out in November by Vectara, a startup founded by former Google employees, found that chatbots invent information at least 3% of the time . It might not sound like much, but it’s a potential for error most businesses won’t stomach.

Cleanlab’s tool is already being used by a handful of companies, including Berkeley Research Group, a UK-based consultancy specializing in corporate disputes and investigations. Steven Gawthorpe, associate director at Berkeley Research Group, says the Trustworthy Language Model is the first viable solution to the hallucination problem that he has seen: “Cleanlab’s TLM gives us the power of thousands of data scientists.”

In 2021, Cleanlab developed technology that discovered errors in 34 popular data sets used to train machine-learning algorithms; it works by by measuring the differences in output across a range of models trained on that data. That tech is now used by several large companies, including Google, Tesla, and the banking giant Chase. The Trustworthy Language Model takes the same basic idea—that disagreements between models can be used to measure the trustworthiness of the overall system—and applies it to chatbots.

In a demo Cleanlab gave to MIT Technology Review last week, Northcutt typed a simple question into ChatGPT: “How many times does the letter ‘n’ appear in ‘enter’?” ChatGPT answered: “The letter ‘n’ appears once in the word ‘enter.’” That correct answer promotes trust. But ask the question a few more times and ChatGPT answers: “The letter ‘n’ appears twice in the word ‘enter.’”

“Not only does it often get it wrong, but it’s also random, you never know what it’s going to output,” says Northcutt. “Why the hell can’t it just tell you that it outputs different answers all the time?”

Cleanlab’s aim is to make that randomness more explicit. Northcutt asks the Trustworthy Language Model the same question. “The letter ‘n’ appears once in the word ‘enter,’” it says—and scores its answer 0.63. Six out of 10 is not a great score, suggesting that the chatbot’s answer to this question should not be trusted.

It’s a basic example, but it makes the point. Without the score, you might think the chatbot knew what it was talking about, says Northcutt. The problem is that data scientists testing large language models in high-risk situations could be misled by a few correct answers and assume that future answers will be correct too: “They try things out, they try a few examples, and they think this works. And then they do things that result in really bad business decisions.”

The Trustworthy Language Model draws on multiple techniques to calculate its scores. First, each query submitted to the tool is sent to several different large language models. Cleanlab is using five versions of DBRX, an open-source model developed by Databricks, an AI firm based in San Francisco. (But the tech will work with any model, says Northcutt, including Meta’s Llama models or OpenAI’s GPT series, the models behind ChatpGPT.) If the responses from each of these models are the same or similar, it will contribute to a higher score.

At the same time, the Trustworthy Language Model also sends variations of the original query to each of the DBRX models, swapping in words that have the same meaning. Again, if the responses to synonymous queries are similar, it will contribute to a higher score. “We mess with them in different ways to get different outputs and see if they agree,” says Northcutt.

The tool can also get multiple models to bounce responses off one another: “It’s like, ‘Here’s my answer—what do you think?’ ‘Well, here’s mine—what do you think?’ And you let them talk.” These interactions are monitored and measured and fed into the score as well.

Nick McKenna, a computer scientist at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK, who works on large language models for code generation, is optimistic that the approach could be useful. But he doubts it will be perfect. “One of the pitfalls we see in model hallucinations is that they can creep in very subtly,” he says.

In a range of tests across different large language models, Cleanlab shows that its trustworthiness scores correlate well with the accuracy of those models’ responses. In other words, scores close to 1 line up with correct responses, and scores close to 0 line up with incorrect ones. In another test, they also found that using the Trustworthy Language Model with GPT-4 produced more reliable responses than using GPT-4 by itself.

Large language models generate text by predicting the most likely next word in a sequence. In future versions of its tool, Cleanlab plans to make its scores even more accurate by drawing on the probabilities that a model used to make those predictions. It also wants to access the numerical values that models assign to each word in their vocabulary, which they use to calculate those probabilities. This level of detail is provided by certain platforms, such as Amazon’s Bedrock, that businesses can use to run large language models.

Cleanlab has tested its approach on data provided by Berkeley Research Group. The firm needed to search for references to health-care compliance problems in tens of thousands of corporate documents. Doing this by hand can take skilled staff weeks. By checking the documents using the Trustworthy Language Model, Berkeley Research Group was able to see which documents the chatbot was least confident about and check only those. It reduced the workload by around 80%, says Northcutt.

In another test, Cleanlab worked with a large bank (Northcutt would not name it but says it is a competitor to Goldman Sachs). Similar to Berkeley Research Group, the bank needed to search for references to insurance claims in around 100,000 documents. Again, the Trustworthy Language Model reduced the number of documents that needed to be hand-checked by more than half.

Running each query multiple times through multiple models takes longer and costs a lot more than the typical back-and-forth with a single chatbot. But Cleanlab is pitching the Trustworthy Language Model as a premium service to automate high-stakes tasks that would have been off limits to large language models in the past. The idea is not for it to replace existing chatbots but to do the work of human experts. If the tool can slash the amount of time that you need to employ skilled economists or lawyers at $2,000 an hour, the costs will be worth it, says Northcutt.

Artificial intelligence

Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. but nobody knows exactly why..

And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.

Google DeepMind’s new generative model makes Super Mario–like games from scratch

Genie learns how to control games by watching hours and hours of video. It could help train next-gen robots too.

What’s next for generative video

OpenAI's Sora has raised the bar for AI moviemaking. Here are four things to bear in mind as we wrap our heads around what's coming.

The AI Act is done. Here’s what will (and won’t) change

The hard work starts now.

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Three-time world champion Sakamoto Kaori named Japan's Skater of the Year

The first woman to win three consecutive figure skating world championships in 56 years was awarded by the Japan Skating Federation for her achievements during the 2023-24 season.

Sakamoto Kaori put the period on her perfect 2023-24 season by being named Skater of the Year at the annual Japan Skating Federation awards ceremony on Wednesday (24 April).

Sakamoto became the first woman since Peggy Fleming in 1968 to win the World Figure Skating Championships for three consecutive years , tying Asada Mao for the most victories by a Japanese female.

The 24-year-old also secured her first Grand Prix Final in December in Beijing as well as her third successive title at the Japanese nationals.

Sakamoto’s triumph in Montreal last month was her seventh win in as many meets this season, and Wednesday’s honour was the cherry on the top of the cake.

"My goal for this season was to win both the World championships and the nationals for the third straight time, and I accomplished it," Sakamoto said. "I'm really happy it was recognised.

"I managed to start the season strong and just kept going. Before the nationals I won the Grand Prix Final for the first time and went into the nationals on a high."

Sakamoto said 2024-25 will be a crucial campaign with it being the penultimate season ahead of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

"I want next season to be something I can build on for the Olympics, more than about winning four in a row. That is where the weight of it will be.

"I can't stress how important the season before the Olympics is. I have to work harder than ever and I need to sharpen up."

• Sakamoto Kaori exclusive on winning in Montreal: 'Three-peat was something I targeted all year'

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The Science of Siblings

Gay people often have older brothers. why and does it matter.

Selena Simmons-Duffin

Credit: Lily Padula for NPR

The Science of Siblings is a new series exploring the ways our siblings can influence us, from our money and our mental health all the way down to our very molecules. We'll be sharing these stories over the next several weeks.

This is something I learned years ago through gay bar chatter: Gay people are often the youngest kids in their families. I liked the idea right away — as a gay youngest sibling, it made me feel like there was a statistical order to things and I fit neatly into that order.

When I started to report on the science behind it, I learned it's true: There is a well-documented correlation between having older siblings (older brothers, specifically) and a person's chance of being gay. But parts of the story also struck me as strange and dark. I thought of We the Animals , Justin Torres' haunting semi-autobiographical novel about three brothers — the youngest of whom is queer — growing up in New York state. So I called Torres to get his take on the idea.

Torres' first reaction was to find it considerably less appealing than I did. This makes sense — his latest novel, Blackouts , won a National Book Award last year, and it grapples with the sinister history of how scientists have studied sexuality. "My novel is interested in the pre-Kinsey sexology studies, specifically this one called Sex Variants ," he told me. "It's really informed by eugenics. They were looking for the cause of homosexuality in the body in order to treat it or cure it or get rid of it."

That's why, when he saw my inquiry about a statistical finding that connects sexuality and birth order, he was wary. "To be frank, I find these kinds of studies that're looking for something rooted in the body to explain sexuality to be kind of bunk. I think they rely on a really binary understanding of sexuality itself," he said.

"That's fair," I conceded. But this connection between queerness and older brothers has been found so many times in so many places that one researcher told me it's "a kind of truth" in the science of sexuality.

Rooted in a dark past

The first research on this topic did indeed begin in the 1940s and '50s, during that era of investigations into what causes homosexuality, to be able to cure it. At the time, the queer people whom scientists were studying were living in a world where this facet of their identity was dangerous. Plus, the studies themselves didn't find much, says Jan Kabátek , a senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne.

"Most of it fell flat," he told me. "But there is an exception to this, and that is the finding that men, specifically, who exhibit attraction to the same sex are likely to have more older brothers than other types of siblings."

In the 1990s, this was dubbed the "fraternal birth order effect." In the years since, it has been found again and again, all over the world.

"This pattern has been documented around Canada and the United States, but it goes well beyond that," says Scott Semenyna , a psychology professor at Stetson University. "There's been now many confirmations that this pattern exists in countries like Samoa. It exists in southern Mexico. It exists in places like Turkey and Brazil."

Huge study, consistent findings

An impressive recent study established that this pattern held up in an analysis of a huge sample — over 9 million people from the Netherlands. It confirmed all those earlier studies and added a twist.

"Interestingly enough — and this is quite different from what has been done before — we also showed that the same association manifests for women," explains Kabátek, one of the study's authors. Women who were in same-sex marriages were also more likely to have older brothers than other types of siblings.

At baseline, the chance that someone will be gay is pretty small. "Somewhere around 2 to 3% — we can call it 2% just for the sake of simplicity," Semenyna says. "The fraternal birth order effect shows that you're going to run into about a 33% increase in the probability of, like, male same-sex attraction for every older brother that you have."

The effect is cumulative: The more older brothers someone has, the bigger it is. If you have one older brother, your probability of being gay nudges up to about 2.6%. "And then that probability would increase another 33% if there was a second older brother, to about 3.5%," Semenyna says.

If you have five older brothers, your chance of being gay is about 8% — so, four times the baseline probability.

The author, Selena Simmons-Duffin, at age 3, with her brother, David Simmons-Duffin, at age 5. The Simmons-Duffin family hide caption

The author, Selena Simmons-Duffin, at age 3, with her brother, David Simmons-Duffin, at age 5.

Still, even 8% is pretty small. "The vast majority of people who have a lot of older brothers are still going to come out opposite-sex attracted," Semenyna says. Also, plenty of gay people have no brothers at all, or they're the oldest in their families. Having older brothers is definitely not the only influence on a person's sexuality.

"But just the fact that we are observing effects that are so strong, relatively speaking, implies that there's a good chance that there is, at least partially, some biological mechanism that is driving these associations," Kabátek says.

A hypothesis, but no definitive mechanism

For decades, the leading candidate for that biological mechanism has been the "maternal immune hypothesis," Semenyna explains. "The basic version of this hypothesis is that when a male fetus is developing, the Y chromosome of the male produces proteins that are going to be recognized as foreign by the mother's immune system and it forms somewhat of an immune response to those proteins."

That immune response has some effect on the development of subsequent male fetuses, Semenyna says. The plausibility of this hypothesis was bolstered by a 2017 study that found "that mothers of gay sons have more of these antibodies that target these male-specific proteins than mothers of sons who are not gay or mothers who have no sons whatsoever," he says.

But now that Kabátek's study of the Dutch population has found that this pattern was present among women in same-sex marriages as well, there are new questions about whether this hypothesis is correct.

"One option is that the immune hypothesis works for both men and women," Kabátek says. "Of course, there can be also other explanations. It's for prospective research to make this clearer."

Fun to think about, but concerning too

In a way, I tell Justin Torres, this effect seems simple and fun to me. It's a concrete statistical finding, documented all over the world, and there's an intriguing hypothesis about why it may happen biologically. But darker undercurrents in all of it worry me, like raising a dangerous idea that becoming gay in the womb is the only version of gayness that is real — or a repackaged version of the old idea that mothers are to "blame."

"It is the undercurrents that worry me immensely," he responds. "I remember when I was a kid — I have this memory of watching daytime television. I must have been staying home from school sick in the late '80s or early '90s. The host polled the audience and said, 'If there was a test [during pregnancy] and you could know if your child was gay, would you abort?' I remember being so horrified and disturbed watching all those hands go up in the audience — just feeling so hated. At that young age, I knew this thing about myself, even if I wasn't ready to admit it."

Even if tolerance for queer people in American society has grown a lot since then, he says, "I think that tolerance waxes and wanes, and I worry about that line of thinking."

At the same time, he agrees that the idea of a connection with gay people being the youngest kids in their families is kind of hilarious. "One thing that pops into my mind is, like, maybe if you're just surrounded by a lot of men, you either choose or don't choose men, right?" he laughs.

Essentially, in his view, it's fun to think about, but probably not deeper than that.

"As a humanist, I just don't know why we need to look for explanations for something as complex and joyous and weird as sexuality," Torres says.

Then again, scientists are unlikely to be able to resist that mysterious, weird complexity. Even if the joy and self-expression and community and so many other parts of queerness and sexuality will always be more than statistics can explain.

More from the Science of Siblings series:

• A gunman stole his twin from him. This is what he's learned about grieving a sibling
• In the womb, a brother's hormones can shape a sister's future
• These identical twins both grew up with autism, but took very different paths
• Science of Siblings
• queer community
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Conservative justices skeptical federal law requires emergency room abortions

Conservative Supreme Court justices expressed skepticism Wednesday that federal law can require hospitals to provide emergency abortion care in states with strict bans on the procedure, marking the latest legal battle over abortion access since the high court overturned Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago.

The sharply divided court appeared to split largely along ideological lines with only the three liberals strongly backing the Biden administration’s view that a 40-year-old emergency-care law conflicts with a strict state ban in Idaho, which imposes penalties of up to five years in prison on doctors who perform the procedure.

At issue is the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires hospitals receiving federal funds to provide urgent care for all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. The Biden administration invoked the statute known as EMTALA after the Supreme Court eliminated the nationwide right to abortion in 2022.

The effort was seen as one of the few ways the administration could try to preserve emergency access to abortion, which remains a galvanizing and divisive issue in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election. More than half of voters have said they believe this year’s national and state races will have a “major impact” on abortion access, with respondents more likely to trust Democrats rather than Republicans to handle the issue, according to polling conducted last month by KFF, a nonpartisan health research organization.

The justices will also decide this term whether to limit access to the widely used abortion medication mifepristone , approved more than 20 years ago by the Food and Drug Administration.

Throughout two hours of argument Wednesday, the liberal justices, who are all women, repeatedly highlighted the severe consequences that abortion bans have had on reproductive health in the United States. They pointed to harrowing examples of pregnant women facing health emergencies short of death, and the justices suggested those women would not be permitted to obtain an abortion under Idaho’s law. Justice Elena Kagan noted that pregnant women in need of emergency abortion care in Idaho were being transferred out of state for treatment.

“It’s become ‘transfer’ is the appropriate standard of care in Idaho, but it can’t be the right standard of care to force somebody onto a helicopter,” Kagan said.

Conservative justices, who make up the court majority, pushed back on the Biden administration’s interpretation of the statute and indicated that the federal government cannot force private hospitals that receive federal funds to violate a state law.

Justice Neil M. Gorsuch expressed concern about the scope of the federal government’s assertion and asked whether it could effectively transform “the regulation of medicine into a federal function” by attaching certain conditions to its funding of hospitals nationwide. Both Gorsuch and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. drew attention to the fact that the EMTALA statute does not mention abortion but includes the term “unborn child” when defining what constitutes a patient.

“Isn’t that an odd phrase to put in a statute that imposes a mandate to perform abortions? Have you ever seen an abortion statute that uses the phrase ‘unborn child?’” Alito asked Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar. “It seems the plain meaning is that the hospital must try to eliminate any immediate threat to the child.”

Prelogar said Congress added the language to expand protections for pregnant women to include treating conditions that specifically threaten the health and well-being of the unborn child — not to exclude protecting the women.

It was less clear based on their questions how three of the justices — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, who are often in the middle on the bench with a 6-3 conservative majority — would resolve the case, which will be decided before the end of the term in late June or early July.

At one point, Barrett expressed frustration with Idaho’s attorney, suggesting he was “hedging” when he asserted that state law allows doctors to use their medical judgment and in “good faith” to determine whether a lifesaving abortion is permitted.

Barrett suggested the Idaho attorney’s answers to Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s hypotheticals, which were about whether state law would allow an abortion to address certain threatening conditions short of death, were at odds with representations in his written filings.

“I’m kind of shocked, actually, because I thought your own expert had said below that these kinds of cases were covered — and you’re now saying they’re not?” Barrett asked, referring to the examples of threats to a pregnant woman’s health.

Idaho’s lawyer, Joshua Turner, in response said the law allows doctors to exercise their medical judgment to determine if an abortion is necessary.

Turner later emphasized that state law “does not require that doctors wait until a patient is on the verge of death” to provide care.

But Barrett and Roberts pressed the state’s lawyer about whether prosecutors or other state officials could second-guess a doctor’s determination.

“What happens if a dispute arises with respect to whether or not the doctor was within the confines of Idaho law or wasn’t? Exactly how is that evaluated?” Roberts asked. Turner said that doctors are overseen by medical boards officials and that prosecutors have discretion when deciding to take action.

Idaho was one of several states to pass a “trigger” law before the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization , with the expectation that it would automatically take effect if the high court overturned Roe . The Idaho law bans almost all abortions and imposes penalties of up to five years in prison on doctors who perform the procedure, with an exception of when “necessary to prevent the death of a pregnant woman.”

The administration sued Idaho in August 2022, saying that the state’s restrictions are preempted by the federal law and that strict state bans have confused health workers, confounded patients and led to delays in lifesaving care for pregnant women.

Prelogar emphasized the distinction between the state law that permits abortion only when a person woman is at risk of death and the care federal law requires when a pregnant woman has a serious medical condition.

“ In Idaho, doctors have to shut their eyes to everything except death,” Prelogar said. “Whereas under EMTALA, you’re supposed to be thinking about things like, ‘Is she about to lose her fertility? Is her uterus going to become incredibly scarred because of the bleeding? Is she about to undergo the possibility of kidney failure?’”

Conservatives counter that the White House is stretching a law that makes no mention of the procedure so it can justify abortion access. The text of the statute requires hospitals to offer “any individual” with an emergency medical condition “such treatment as may be required to stabilize the medical condition.”

Turner, Idaho’s acting solicitor general, said the federal statute does not permit emergency room doctors to ignore state abortion restrictions. Just as individual states have different rules for dispensing opioids to manage pain, he said, doctors are required to abide by state medical regulations.

“Illegal treatments are not available treatments,” Turner said.

Since Roe was overturned, dozens of stories have emerged of women with high-risk pregnancy complications being turned away from hospitals in states with abortion bans. While all of the bans include some kind of medical exception for the life or health of the pregnant mother, the language is often vague, leaving doctors unsure of whether they can legally provide an abortion. In many states, the penalty for violating an abortion ban is at least several years in prison. Six other states have restrictions similar to those in Idaho’s law and do not include a health exception, Prelogar told the court Wednesday.

In 2022, officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued guidance to hospitals receiving Medicare funds that emergency room doctors must terminate pregnancies in some circumstances, even if a state’s law bars the procedure. Hospitals that do not comply face penalties of up to $120,000 per violation.

Experts have warned that if the Supreme Court rules against the Biden administration, states could be empowered to pick and choose how to apply the federal emergency-care law well beyond abortion.

Lower courts have issued conflicting decisions. A district judge in August 2022 sided with the Biden administration and temporarily blocked the contested provision of the Idaho law . The judge left the state’s ban on most abortions in place but said that because of the obligation of hospitals under conflicting federal law, a doctor cannot be punished for performing an abortion to protect a patient’s health.

Then a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit allowed the state to enforce the law — before a full complement of judges on the same appeals court again blocked Idaho’s ability to punish emergency room doctors while the appeals continued.

In January, the Supreme Court agreed to take the case, Idaho v. United States , in response to Idaho’s emergency request and allowed the law to take effect while litigation continued.

In a separate case in Texas, the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled against the Biden administration, saying state hospitals and doctors are not obligated to perform abortions under the federal emergency-care law.

Kim Bellware, Dan Diamond and Perry Stein contributed to this report.

U.S. abortion access, reproductive rights

Tracking abortion access in the United States: Since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade , the legality of abortion has been left to individual states. The Washington Post is tracking states where abortion is legal, banned or under threat.

Abortion and the election: Voters in about a dozen states could decide the fate of abortion rights with constitutional amendments on the ballot in a pivotal election year. Biden supports legal access to abortion , and he has encouraged Congress to pass a law that would codify abortion rights nationwide. After months of mixed signals about his position, Trump said the issue should be left to states . Here’s how Trump’s abortion stance has shifted over the years.

New study: The number of women using abortion pills to end their pregnancies on their own without the direct involvement of a U.S.-based medical provider rose sharply in the months after the Supreme Court eliminated a constitutional right to abortion , according to new research.

Abortion pills: The Supreme Court seemed unlikely to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone . Here’s what’s at stake in the case and some key moments from oral arguments . For now, full access to mifepristone will remain in place . Here’s how mifepristone is used and where you can legally access the abortion pill .

• Conservative justices appear skeptical federal law requires emergency abortion care April 24, 2024 Conservative justices appear skeptical federal law requires emergency abortion care April 24, 2024
• States where abortion is on the ballot in the 2024 election April 15, 2024 States where abortion is on the ballot in the 2024 election April 15, 2024
• States where abortion is legal, banned or under threat April 9, 2024 States where abortion is legal, banned or under threat April 9, 2024

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Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left ‘at her feet’

Jury selection in Donald Trump’s hush money trial has encountered new setbacks as two seated jurors were excused. Attorneys now need to pick 13 more jurors to serve on the panel.(AP Video: David R. Martin)

FILE - Stormy Daniels appears at an event, May 23, 2018, in West Hollywood, Calif. The hush money trial of former President Donald Trump begins Monday, April 15, 2024, with jury selection. It’s the first criminal trial of a former U.S. commander-in-chief. The charges in the trial center on $130,000 in payments that Trump’s company made to his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen. He paid that sum on Trump’s behalf to keep Daniels from going public, a month before the election, with her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File)

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Former President Donald Trump approaches to speak to reporters as he leaves a Manhattan courtroom after the second day of his criminal trial, Tuesday, April 16, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)

The latest: Get live updates from Donald Trump’s hush money trial

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president’s criminal trial , refused to take it and walked away.

A process server working for Trump’s lawyers said he approached Daniels with papers demanding information related to a documentary recently released about her life and involvement with Trump, but was forced to “leave them at her feet,” according to a court filing made public Wednesday.

“I stated she was served as I identified her and explained to her what the documents were,” process server Dominic DellaPorte wrote. “She did not acknowledge me and kept walking inside the venue, and she had no expression on her face.”

The encounter, prior to a screening of the “Stormy” film at the 3 Dollar Bill nightclub, has touched off a monthlong battle between Trump’s lawyers and Daniels’ attorney that continued this week as the presumptive Republican nominee’s criminal trial began in Manhattan.

Trump’s lawyers are asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to force Daniels to comply with the subpoena. In their filing, they included a photo they said DellaPorte took of Daniels as she strode away.

Daniels’ lawyer Clark Brewster claims they never received the paperwork. He described the requests as an “unwarranted fishing expedition” with no relevance to Trump’s criminal trial.

“The process — instituted on the eve of trial — appears calculated to cause harassment and/or intimidation of a lay witness,” Brewster wrote in an April 9 letter to Merchan. Brewster didn’t immediately reply to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The hush money case is the first of Trump’s four criminal cases to go to trial. Seven jurors have been seated so far. Jury selection is set to resume Thursday.

Daniels is expected to testify about a $130,000 payment she got in 2016 from one of Trump’s lawyers at the time, Michael Cohen, in order to stop her from speaking publicly about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump years earlier.

Cohen was later reimbursed by Trump’s company for that payment. Trump is accused of falsifying his company’s records to hide the nature of that payment, and other work he did to bury negative stories during the 2016 campaign.

Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He denies having a sexual encounter with Daniels. His lawyers argue the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses, and were recorded correctly.

In a separate filing made public Wednesday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said that if Trump chooses to testify at the trial, prosecutors plan to challenge his credibility by questioning him about his recent legal setbacks. The filing was made last month under seal.

Trump was recently ordered to pay a $454 million civil penalty following a trial in which a judge ruled he had lied about his wealth on financial statements. In another trial, a jury said he was liable for $83.3 million for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of sexual assault.

Merchan said he plans to hold a hearing Friday to decide whether that will be allowed.

Under New York law, prosecutors can question witnesses about past legal matters in certain circumstances. Trump’s lawyers are opposed. Trump has said he wants to testify, but he is not required to and can always change his mind.

As for the subpoena dispute, it marks the latest attempt by Trump’s lawyers to knock loose potentially damaging information about Daniels, a key prosecution witness.

They are demanding an array of documents related to the promotion and editing of the documentary, “Stormy,” which explores Daniels’ career in the adult film industry and rise to celebrity since her alleged involvement with Trump became publicly known.

They are also requesting Daniels reveal how much, if anything, she was compensated for the film.

Trump’s lawyers contend the film’s premiere last month on NBC’s Peacock streaming service — a week before the trial was originally scheduled to start — stoked negative publicity about Trump, muddying his ability to get a fair trial.

In the filings made public Wednesday, Trump’s attorneys accuse Daniels of “plainly seeking to promote her brand and make money based on her status as a witness.”

The subpoena also demands communications between Daniels and other likely witnesses in the trial, including Cohen and Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who alleges she had an affair with Trump. It also requests any communications between Daniels and Carroll.

Earlier this month, Merchan blocked an attempt by Trump to subpoena NBC Universal for information related to the documentary. He wrote that subpoena and the demands therein “are the very definition of a fishing expedition.”