For a text quote, a clean in-text reference with a source is enough. For a borrowed graphic, it isn’t. Anyone who wants to cite figures or cite tables is dealing with two legal questions at once: the right to quote and the copyright in the image itself. Add to that the formal rules for captions, numbering, and lists of figures — details that most style guides quietly skip over.
Why figures and tables are their own topic
For text, the quotation right covers you (§ 51 UrhG in Germany, Art. 25 URG in Switzerland). For images, it’s different. A figure is usually an independent work with its own copyright — the note “Source: Mueller 2023” does not automatically protect you legally. A genuine image citation is required: you engage with the figure argumentatively, not decoratively.
In practice: as long as the work is submitted for examination purposes at your institution (§ 60a UrhG / the educational and research exception in Germany; equivalent provisions apply in Switzerland and Austria), you’re covered provided the source, caption, and list of figures are all correct. For any publication outside the academic context, you may need explicit permission.
The three cases you need to distinguish
1. Your own figure or table
You created the graphic yourself — in Excel, PowerPoint, Illustrator, R, or Python. Caption:
Fig. 1: Business cycle 2010–2024 (own illustration).
If the underlying data comes from an external source, add that:
Fig. 2: Business cycle 2010–2024 (own illustration, data from Mueller 2023, p. 14).
In this case the source goes into the bibliography, because you used someone else’s data. The graphic itself is yours.
2. A reproduced figure
You reproduce a graphic 1:1 from a paper or book. This is only permissible if you explicitly engage with the figure in the text — not as decoration, not to break up the layout. Caption:
Fig. 3: Business cycle according to Mueller (Mueller 2023, p. 12).
The source must appear in the bibliography. If you don’t write at least one sentence about it in the main text (“As Mueller (2023, p. 12) shows …”), there is no substantive connection to the work — and it stops being a legitimate image citation and becomes unauthorised reproduction.
3. A modified figure
You take someone else’s graphic as a template but rebuild it (different colours, additional axes, extended dataset). Caption:
Fig. 4: Business cycle (own illustration, adapted from Mueller 2023, p. 12).
Important: the adaptation must be recognisable. A 1:1 replica with only a slightly different font does not count as “adapted” — it counts as reproduction.
Writing captions correctly
A few conventions that apply uniformly (or near-uniformly) across all styles (APA, Harvard, Chicago):
- Figure: caption below the graphic. Format:
Fig. X: Title (Source). - Table: caption above the table. Format:
Tab. X: Title (Source). - Numbering runs separately per type: Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3 and Tab. 1, Tab. 2 — do not mix the sequences.
- Stay consistent: use either “Fig.” throughout or “Figure” throughout — do not switch.
Five example captions
Fig. 1: GDP growth Switzerland 2014–2024 in percent (own illustration, data from FSO 2024).
Fig. 2: Four-phase model of the business cycle (Mankiw 2021, p. 487).
Fig. 3: Distribution of student dropouts by subject group (own illustration, adapted from Heublein et al. 2022, p. 23).
Tab. 1: Overview of qualitative research methods (own illustration).
Tab. 2: Sample statistics, survey 2025 (own illustration, n = 142).
List of figures and list of tables
From roughly three to five figures onward it pays to maintain a separate list — and many thesis regulations require one beyond this threshold anyway. In Word: References → Insert Caption for each figure, then References → Insert Table of Figures. Word generates the list automatically from the captions. Repeat for tables.
Position in the document: after the table of contents, before the list of abbreviations. Format: Fig. X — Title — Page.
Special cases
Photograph from the internet. Always check the licence. Creative Commons images require attribution: creator, licence, source. Example: Fig. 5: University Library Basel (Photo: J. Beyeler, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons). If the image is “All rights reserved”: do not use it.
Diagram from a PDF or paper. Rights almost always belong to the publisher. In a student thesis submitted for examination purposes, use is permissible under the educational-use exception — but source and substantive engagement are mandatory. For any publication you need permission from the rights holder.
AI-generated image. A declaration is required in the caption. Example: Fig. 6: Model visualisation (own illustration, generated with Midjourney 6.1, 2026-03-14). Declare additionally in the statutory declaration of academic integrity.
Screenshot of software or a website. Include version and date: Fig. 7: Zotero library with annotations (Screenshot Zotero 6.0.30, own capture, 2026-04-12).
Table from a source. Reproduced verbatim = a verbatim citation of a table. Your own presentation of the same data = “data from …”.
Figure type, caption, and bibliography at a glance
| Figure type | Caption format | Entry in the bibliography? |
|---|---|---|
| Own figure, own data | ”Fig. X: Title (own illustration).” | No |
| Own figure, external data | ”Fig. X: Title (own illustration, data from Mueller 2023, p. 14).” | Yes (Mueller 2023) |
| Reproduced figure | ”Fig. X: Title (Mueller 2023, p. 12).” | Yes |
| Modified figure | ”Fig. X: Title (own illustration, adapted from Mueller 2023, p. 12).” | Yes |
| Photograph with CC licence | ”Fig. X: Title (creator, licence, platform).” | Yes (or in the list of figures with licence details) |
| AI-generated image | ”Fig. X: Title (own illustration, generated with Tool, date).” | No (tool declared in statutory declaration) |
| Software screenshot | ”Fig. X: Title (Screenshot Tool Version, own capture, date).” | Tool in bibliography optional |
The bibliography entry is the same as for a text source from the same work — no more, no less. If you maintain a separate list of figures, you can add licence details there in addition.
Common mistakes
- Figure without a source. A classic with graphics copied from the internet. Even if the file “looks free”, a source is required.
- Caption without “Fig. X:”. Breaks the automatic list and looks unprofessional.
- Photo of recognisable people without their consent. Even with a free licence: identifiable individuals have personality rights. If in doubt, pixelate or omit.
- CC licence not stated. “via Wikimedia Commons” is not enough. The licence type (CC BY 4.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 …) belongs in the caption.
- Decorative images. A generic stock photo of a library in the methods chapter is not an image citation — it’s decorative content, and therefore still subject to licensing.
- Table reproduced, source only in the running text. The source belongs directly in the table caption, not two paragraphs above it.
Acurio also checks captions
If you cite a table with data from Mueller 2023, p. 14 — are those numbers actually on page 14? Acurio reads the captions in your figures and tables, compares data states and page references against the original source, and reports discrepancies per caption. Precisely the error category that plagiarism checkers ignore entirely — and that examiners are now checking closely.
Disclaimer
This post is a practical guide for student theses at German-speaking universities, not a substitute for legal advice. As soon as you publish a thesis outside the academic context (publisher, blog, open-access repository, conference proceedings), check the licence and reproduction rights for each figure individually.