Sometimes it will be helpful to include a graphic from another source when writing a research paper. What is accepted is to give credit to the original source. To do this, a quote is usually included below the graphic. The form of this quote will depend on the style used in your discipline. The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is used among language and humanities scholars, while authors working in psychology, social sciences, and the hard sciences often use the standards of the Language Association. psychologists of the United States (American Psychological Association, APA). Other specialists in the humanities and social sciences, such as historians, use the Chicago / Turabian style and people in related engineering fields use the standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).). Consult with your instructor before writing a document to determine the citation style to use.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Cite a Chart in the MLA Style
Step 1. Reference the graphic in the text
When you refer to the graphic in your writing, use "figure X" or "fig. X" in parentheses. Use an Arabic number and do not capitalize the word "figure" or the abbreviation "fig."
For example, you could refer to a graph that shows tomato consumption patterns like this: "Due to the growing popularity of salsa and ketchup, tomato consumption in the country has risen in recent years (see fig.. 1)"
Step 2. Place the legend below the graph
A graph or chart from another source is called "Figure X", although you could abbreviate "Figure" to "Fig." In the legend you will have to put "Figure" or "Fig." In uppercase.
- Figures should be listed in the order they appear, the first graphic or illustration is "Fig. 1", the second "Fig. 2" and so on.
- Do not put "Figure" or "Fig." in italics, neither is the numeral.
Step 3. Provide a brief description of the graph
This should provide a clear and concise explanation of what is shown on the graph.
For example, “Fig. 1. Increase in tomato consumption in the country, 1970-2000…”
Step 4. Include the name of the author
Note that unlike MLA citations, you will start with the author's name: "John Green" instead of "Green, John." If the author is an institution, provide its name. You will have to add the words "Graphic by" if it is not your original material.
"Fig. 1. Increase in tomato consumption in the country, 1970-2000. John Green graphic…”
Step 5. Provide the title of the book or other resource
The title must be in italic format. Write the title directly after the comma after the author's name: "John Green, Growing vegetables in your garden,…".
You will also put the title of the web page in italics like this: Technical sheet of the state …
Step 6. Include the location, publisher, and year of the book in parentheses
It is modeled after (location, publisher, years). For example, (Hot Springs: Lake Publishers, 2002). After closing the parentheses, type another comma.
- "Fig. 1. Increase in tomato consumption in the country, 1970-2000. John Green's graphic, Growing Vegetables in Your Garden ', (Hot Springs: Lake Publishers, 2002).
- If the graphic came from a resource that is on the Internet, follow the MLA guide to cite these types of resources. Provide the name of the website, publisher, date of publication, medium, date of access and pages (if any, otherwise put “n. P.”).
- For example, if the graphic comes from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) page, your quote would look like this: “Fig. 1. Increase in tomato consumption in the country, 1970-2000. Technical data sheet graphic of states. USDA. January 1, 2015. Web. February 4, 2015. n. P.".
Step 7. Finish with the page number and format of the resource
Write a period after the page number, then indicate the format of the book (ie "Printed" "E-book", etc.). Ready! The full quote should appear as follows:
- Fig. 1. Increase in tomato consumption in the country, 1970-2000. John Green's graphic, Growing Vegetables in Your Garden, (Hot Springs: Lake Publishers, 2002), 43. Printed ".
- If you provide all the information for the citation in the legend, you don't have to include it on the works cited page.
Method 2 of 4: Cite a Chart in APA Format
Step 1. Reference the figure in the text
Do not include any figure that you do not mention in the text. Always refer to the figure by its number and not with words like "the figure above" or "the figure below."
For example, you could write the following: "As seen in Figure 1, tomato consumption has risen sharply in the last three decades."
Step 2. Place the quote below the graphic
Name the graph or chart like this: "Figure X". Italicize this part.
- The figures must have the numbers in the order in which they appear, the first graphic or illustration will be Figure 1, the second is Figure 2, etc.
- If the graphic had a title, give it the capitalization of a title. This means that you will only capitalize the first letter of the first word in the sentence, as well as the first letter of proper names.
Step 3. Provide a brief description of the graph
This description or legend provides information about the content of the chart to the reader. Make sure you provide enough information in the legend by describing the figure appropriately. In APA, the description ends with a period.
- For example: Figure 1. Increase in tomato consumption in the country, 1970-2000.
- Use a title format for the description as well.
Step 4. The appointment information begins
In most cases, you will begin the information with the words "Retrieved [or adapted] from …" This will indicate to the reader that the graphic is not original to your work, but comes from a different source.
- If the graphic you are presenting is your original work, which means that you collected all the information and compiled it yourself, you will not need this phrase.
- For example: Figure 1. Increase in tomato consumption in the country, 1970-2000. Recovered from…
Step 5. Write the name of the volume, then the number of pages in parentheses
Italicize book titles and cite the relevant page number in parentheses after the title without punctuation in between. Use single-sentence capitalization for titles of books and academic journals, which means that you only have to capitalize the first word and proper nouns.
For example: Figure 1. Increase in tomato consumption in the country, 1970-2000. Recovered from, Growing vegetables in your garden (p. 43),
Step 6. Then enter the author, publication date, location, and publisher
This information should follow the format "First initial. Last name, date, location: publisher". For example: "J. Green, 2002, Hot Springs: Lake Publishers."
For example: Figure 1. Increase in tomato consumption in the country, 1970-2000. Retrieved from, Growing Vegetables in Your Garden (p. 43), by J. Green, 2002, Hot Springs: Lake Publishers
Step 7. Finish with the copyright information for the graphic if you plan to publish the document
For example, if the graphic's intellectual property rights (or copyright) are held by the National Tomato Growers Association, you will need to contact this organization to use the graphic. Then, indicate in the legend that the graphic is "Copyright 2002 by the National Association of Permitted Tomato Growers." The full quote would be:
Figure 1. Increase in tomato consumption in the country, 1970-2000. Retrieved from, Growing Vegetables in Your Garden (p. 43), by J. Green, 2002, Hot Springs: Lake Publishers. Copyright 2002 by the National Tomato Growers Association. Recovered with permission
Method 3 of 4: Cite a Chart Using Chicago / Turabian Standards
Step 1. Place the quote below the graphic
A graph or chart from another source is called "Figure X" first, although you could abbreviate "Figure" with "Fig." Use Arabic numerals (for example, 1, 2, 3, etc.).
Figures must be numbered in the order in which they appear. The first graphic or illustration is "Fig. 1", the second "Fig. 2" and so on
Step 2. Provide a brief description of the graph
This serves as the title of the figure and provides the reader with information about the content of the graph. Do not add any punctuation after this description, the rest of the information you cite will be in parentheses afterwards.
For example, “Fig. 1. Increase in tomato consumption in the country… "
Step 3. Name the author of the graphic if available
For example, in our example you could write "Graphic of the National Association of Tomato Growers."
Step 4. Put the remaining citation information in parentheses
It follows a format of In Book Title. By author. Location: publisher, date, page number. The full quote should be read as shown below.
Fig. 1. Increase in tomato consumption in the country (Graph by the National Association of Tomato Growers. In Growing vegetables in your garden. John Green. Hot Springs: Lake Publishers, 2002, 43)
Method 4 of 4: Cite a graphic in the IEEE format
Step 1. Provide a title for the graph
This title must be written in capital letters. For example: "TOMATO CONSUMPTION FIGURES".
Step 2. List the source citation number
In IEEE citations, each source has a number in ascending order as it appears in the writing. Then you will reference the font number again when you mention it.
- If you mark the first time you've used this font, give it a new number.
- If you have already used this font, please refer to the original font number.
- In our example, let's say it is the fifth font in the document. The quote will begin with a bracket and then a "5": "[5…".
Step 3. Provide a page number where you will find the graphic
This concludes the information that you will provide in the body of the document. So the full quote will look like this:
- TOMATO CONSUMPTION FIGURES [5, p. 43].
- Be sure to include full source information in the footnotes.