Finding & Using Images Effectively & Ethically - #ResearchProTips Spring 2015
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Editor's Notes
There are 3 questions you should be thinking about throughout this presentation.
[Various images]. Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei
[Various images]. Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei
[Various images]. Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: https://www.facebook.com/georgehtakei
Top Scoring Links: Cats. Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: http://www.reddit.com/r/cats/top/?sort=top&t=all
Images are everywhere.
Author’s own work. Licensed under CC-BY-SA license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
This is indisputably an image.
[Photograph of Godzilla-shaped clouds]. Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: https://twitter.com/MrAlexBoz/status/510943035211800576
These book covers incorporate design elements that certainly qualify them as images.
American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.)[Book cover], Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: http://www.apastyle.org/manual/
Modern Language Association. (2009). MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed.)[Book cover], Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chicago_Manual_of_Style#mediaviewer/File:The_Chicago_Manual_of_Style_16th_edition.gif
University of Chicago Press Staff. (2010). The Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.). [Book cover], Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: http://guides.highpoint.edu/mla
Any visual art can be depicted in an image.
Magritte, R. (1929). The treachery of images [Oil on canvas], Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: https://library.artstor.org
Yes, charts and figures from articles count as images for our purposes as well.
Mann, M.E., Bradley, R.S., & Hughes, M.K. (1999). Northern hemisphere temperatures during the past millennium: Inferences, uncertainties, and limitations, Geophysical Research Letters 26(6): 759.
Different disciplines use images in very different ways. A science major may use images to communicate results or methods, while a humanities major may use them as the basis of a cultural critique or to set historical context.
FlickrLickr. (2004). The tree is on fire [photograph]. Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_tree_is_on_fire.jpg#mediaviewer/File:The_tree_is_on_fire.jpg
CC-BY
Capobianco, E. (2012). Jul08 {153/366} Contador de história! [Photograph]. Retrieved September 15th, 2014 from: https://flic.kr/p/cttWpE
CC-BY-NC-SA
Lugevas. (2008). Downtown Wooster, Ohio, overlooking the square and gazebo [Photograph]. Retrieved September 15, 2014 from:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_Wooster,_Ohio,_overlooking_the_square_and_gazebo.jpg
CC-BY-SA
Wright, O. & Wright, W. (1901). Side view of glider flying as a kite near the ground, Wilbur at left and Orville at right, glider turned forward to right and tipped downward [Photograph]. Retrieved September 15th, 2014 from: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/wri/item/2001696475/
Image is in the public domain.
Seeman (2014). WDRYLDGw.jpg [Photograph]. Retrieved January 22, 2015 from: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/917489
Under morgueFile license. http://www.morguefile.com/license/morguefile
Miro, J. (1923). The Hunter (Catalan Landscape) [Oil on canvas]. Retrieved September 16, 2014 from: http://library.artstor.org/
Vann/Art Resource, NY. (n.d.). Acropolis at Athens, view from the south-west [Photograph], Retrieved September 16, 2014 from: http://www.oxfordartonline.com/
Souvenir Folder Postcard of The College of Wooster Campus [Postcard]. (ca. 1925). Retrieved September 15, 2015 from: http://cdm15963.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15963coll20/id/142
Top three tips for using images in presentations and posters.
Bégin, E. (2010). Ruby-throated hummingbird [Photograph]. Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: https://flic.kr/p/8x6Mj8
CC-BY-NC-ND
This is an example of what not to do. Avoid putting too many images on a slide, especially if the images contain meaningful information or are being used as a visual aid.
Sarkar P, Bosneaga E, Yap EG Jr, Das J, Tsai W-T, et al. (2014) Electron Tomography of Cryo-Immobilized Plant Tissue: A Novel Approach to Studying 3D Macromolecular Architecture of Mature Plant Cell Walls In Situ. PLoS ONE 9(9): e106928. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0106928
This is an example of what not to do. If you’re using an image for decoration, don’t leave large areas of empty space.
PublicDomainPictures. (2012). Autumn, background, color, fall [Photograph]. Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: http://pixabay.com/en/autumn-background-color-fall-84714/
PublicDomainPictures. (2013). Pumpkin, pumpkins, squash, gourd [Photograph]. Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: http://pixabay.com/en/pumpkin-pumpkins-squash-gourd-220122/
Both images CC-0
SuperTank17. (2010). Polski Fiat 126p with a custom paintjob on Józefa street in Kraków (1) [Photograph]. Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polski_Fiat_126p_with_a_custom_paintjob_on_J%C3%B3zefa_street_in_Krak%C3%B3w_(1).jpg
CC-BY-SA
Gouwenaar. (2007). Steenfabriek, Tolkamer, Netherlands [Photograph]. Retrieved September 15, 2014 from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steenfabriek,_Tolkamer,_Netherlands.jpg
Image in the public domain.
Space is at a premium on a poster, so a) images are a great way to communicate potentially complex information in a smaller amount of space, and b) decorative images should be minimized or eliminated completely.
This chart is readable on a lit screen, and the detailed information is useful for publishing in a journal article.
Hess, G., Tosney, K., & Liegel, L. (2013). Lynx-hare population oscillations (1) [Chart]. Retrieved from: http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/CreatePosterGraphics.html
This chart is more appropriate for a poster presentation. It uses high-contrast colors, orients the Y-axis title horizontally, and eliminates details that aren’t necessary to understand the main point of the findings.
Hess, G., Tosney, K., & Liegel, L. (2013). Lynx-hare population oscillations (2) [Chart]. Retrieved from: http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/CreatePosterGraphics.html
Citing an image in your style is usually similar to citing anything else. The important pieces of information are all still important. You’ll typically also want to include the medium in your citation. This can be as generic as “painting” or “photograph,” but if you have more detailed information, like “oil on canvas,” use it.
You should try to include as much information as you can in your citation. Check your source carefully for things like year of creation and author name. Even if you don’t see it right away (or on the image itself), it might be present.
This is an example of an APA citation to an electronic image where all information is available.
As you lose elements, the order changes. “[Description of work]. Retrieval information” is the least possible amount of information that it is acceptable to present.
If you can’t locate an author, year, or title for an image, think carefully about whether it’s absolutely necessary that you use that image. If not, try to find an alternative that works equally well, but for which you have more detailed information.
Copyright is a bundle of rights that US law grants to the author of a creative work. These rights allow the creator to control how that work is used for a limited period of time.
17 U.S. Code § 102
Essentially all images that don’t fall into a category of exceptions are protected by copyright. This list isn’t exhaustive. Other works that are protected include books, plays, computer code, choreography, and more.
No formal registration is required, and protection applies instantly. This is why, unless there’s a specific reason to think otherwise, your starting assumption should be that every image you find is protected.
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The exact span for works created after 1977 is the life of the author plus 70 years. For works made for hire, protection lasts until 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication, whichever is sooner. This term has been lengthened over time, so the age of the image in question is a factor.
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One major exception is any work produced by an employee of the federal government as part of their normal job duties. Such works are not protected by copyright.
Most of the image-searching resources in this presentation include a copyright statement somewhere. This is why it’s important to read the fine print, and why limiting your search to images that have been cleared for re-use is a good idea.
Here is the copyright statement in Google Image Search.
This is what it looks like in Flickr.
Click here on the Library of Congress catalog to view information about copyright.
When you click on an image in MorgueFile to view details or download the file, you’ll see a statement of rights, including pre-approved uses for the photo.
Even without an explicit statement of rights, it’s still possible to get a pretty good idea of whether or not an image is currently under copyright protection. If you know the year, you can use this handy tool.
Copyright does have some limits (although they’re probably not as broad as you think).
The law does provide exceptions for in-class use of copyrighted content. As a student, anything you make for class that's only used in class is likely to fall under those exceptions. However, once it's is distributed outside the confines of the classroom (for example, a presentation to a campus group or a class poster session), it is no longer exempt. That’s why it’s important to be aware of whether you’re using copyrighted images.
Fair use is a part of the law that allows the use of parts of copyrighted material without permission for things like parody, criticism, and news reporting. It's a complicated legal concept that requires a careful balancing of several factors. Fair use doesn’t prevent you from being asked to remove copyrighted content or from being sued; it’s a defense which must be argued in court.
Without going through the full suite of considerations that go into deciding whether a use is fair, here are three guiding questions that you can ask yourself in order to get an idea about whether you can feel comfortable using a copyrighted image. If the answer to all three questions is ‘yes,’ you’re in safe territory. Otherwise, you might want to consider using an alternative.
One way to avoid all this copyright mess is to stick to Creative Commons licenses. Creative Commons is an advocacy organization dedicated to making it easier to use and share creative works. When you search Google Images, Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, and other places, you’re likely to find images using one of these licenses. Here’s a chart of what the different parts of the license mean.
[Creative commons licenses]. Retrieved September 16, 2014 from: http://voxindie.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Screen-Shot-2012-12-17-at-1.52.22-PM.png
The other lesson to take away from all of this is that YOU are a copyright holder. Every picture that you take, paper that you write, or doodle that you draw in the margins of your notebook during class belongs to you.
How your copyrighted works are used is up to you. If you want to go after people that repost your images on Facebook, you can. On the other hand, if you want to let people share them, you can do that too. Many media-sharing websites offer a built-in option to attach a Creative Commons license to your stuff.
In YouTube, it’s available as an advanced option after you upload your video.
In Flickr, you have the whole suite of CC licenses to choose from.
If you use Instagram, there’s a third-party service that allows you to attach a CC license to your pictures at i-am-cc.org
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Facebook and Twitter don’t currently have easy ways of attaching CC licenses.
