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Understanding Plagiarism

Using Images & Public Domain Works

white cliffs of dover

It's easy to copy and paste images into your work, but you should always provide acknowledgment of an image's source. Include:

  1. The artist's name.
  2. The title of image or work.
  3. The date it was created.
  4. Country of origin, location, name of the repository...etc.
  5. Dimensions.
  6. Material or medium of work (oil on canvas, photograph, marble, etc.)

Even if your faculty member doesn’t require citation for images, it’s a good idea to include the author’s name and URL (link) as a way of informally citing it.

(Image: Wikimedia Commons user Ian Wilson, CC-BY)

Lightbulb iconHelpful Hint

Wikimedia Commons is a great place to search for images that are either in the public domain, or have a Creative Commons license, meaning they can be reused without permission (but always with attribution!). In most cases, Wikimedia also shares information about the creators of images, which makes them easier to cite. Above is an image of the White Cliffs of Dover, England. Below, see the information about the photo and who created it, accessible on its Wikimedia Commons page. 

Creative Commons license for White Cliffs of Dover image

public domain icon

 

The Internet provides access to lots of content that doesn’t have a clearly defined author or is in the Public Domain. In the U.S., the concept of “Fair Use” is often misunderstood to mean that you can take any information or image and use it as your own as long as it is for educational purposes. Information that is in the Public Domain still needs citation.