27 Images: Adding Captions, Attributions and Citations
27 Images: Adding Captions, Attributions and Citations
How to add a Caption to an Image
All captions should be added to images (photos, charts, graphs, tables, etc.) using the Pressbooks caption button. (Figures and tables should be named separately.) Doing this places the caption underneath the image, be it a figure or a table.
Add captions using the Pressbooks caption button as follows:
- Click anywhere on image.
- Locate and click on the pencil icon in the upper left corner.
- Enter description in the Caption field. (See Figures and Tables: labels, numbers and descriptions).
- Add a clear description of the image in the Alternative (Alt) Text field for accessibility purposes.
- In general, an image should be no wider than 500 pixels, and the height should be no bigger than 600 pixels. Use the Custom Size feature to adjust this, if needed.
- Use “Align” to position the image.
- Make sure the “Link to” dropdown list points to “Media File”. Adjust if needed.
- Click on “Update” to save.
Tools to help
There are a couple of browser add-ons that can help you capture the correct information for web-based Creative Commons licensed material. If you work with CC material often, take a look at these browser add-ons to make attributing content easier.
- Open Attribute – a browser plugin for Firefox and Chrome that grabs the CC license metadata on a web page and turns it into an attribution for you
- Commons Machinery – a suite of plugins for Firefox and Open Office tools that enables copying and pasting images with the attribution info already attached
Figures and Tables: Labels, Numbers and Descriptions
When adding the caption, be sure to use a numbering system that incorporates the chapter number and image sequence within the chapter to the Figure or Table label.
After numbering the figure or table, provide a description of the figure or table. As a general rule, do not use the title given to the image by the artist for your description. There should be no punctuation (period or comma) between the label/number (Figure 4.3) and description (The green discus fish shown in its natural environment).
- Figure with number and label
a) Number format is “Figure” = chapter number + dot + position number
b) Example with number and label: Figure 4.3 (The third image in chapter 4.) See sample below.
- Table
a) Format is “Table” = chapter number + dot + position number
b) Example: Table 3.1 (The first table in chapter 3.)
Citation vs Attribution
When adding images (photo, chart, graph, table, etc.), the question often arises: When should I cite? and When should I attribute?
The rule-of-thumb is you should use an attribution for photos or drawings. Whereas, a resource that contains words (table, graph, chart) should be cited and only if the words from this resource are used and placed within a newly created structure, i.e. you make a new table, graph or chart.
Cite an image as you would text within the body of your work using the in-text method designated by the cita