Getting Started
Finding images for a research paper, a course assignment or for sharing online can be challenging. This guide will walk you through what to consider when finding and using images. Elements to consider:
- The difference between image full text and image index databases
- Open access image websites
- How to cite images using a specific citation style guide
- Copyright and creative commons permissions/attributions
Here is an example of citing an image with a Creative Commons (CC) license:
Title: Mermaid Cove Sunrise
Creator: Jerry Meadon
Source: Flikr https://bit.ly/2GMYajl
Copyright Information: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Note: The use of digital images is often subject to copyright and/or licensing restrictions. Consult each site's information on rights and reproductions, especially if you plan to use an image in a publication. It is equally important that you cite images properly. For more guidance on how to cite images in a research paper, see the How to Cite section of this guide.
Key Image Resources
Listed below are few image resources. For many more resources, explore the menu topics to the left.
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ArtstorA digital image library for the arts and sciences with an unparalleled range of images licensed for educational use at UBC.
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ArchivisionArchivision is a database of over 80,000 high quality, professionally photographed images of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, archaeology, and design searchable within the MDID platform.
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Oxford Art OnlineOxford Art Online is the access point for Grove Art Online, the Benezit Dictionary of Artists, the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and the Oxford Companion to Western Art.
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UBC Library's Digital CollectionsUBC Library Digital Collections represents many of the locally-created digital collections developed and maintained by the University of British Columbia Library. Collectively they document a diverse range of people and places, activities and events, and serve as a resource for students, historians, genealogists, and other researchers.
Search Tips
Searching ARTstor
For help finding, viewing, and downloading images in ARTstor, please see the helpful video below.
Reverse image search with Google Images
A quick look at how to use reverse image searches on Google.
Use slideshows for easy image searches on Bing
Save yourself from scrolling through pages of crowded images by learning how to make Bing's image search results play like a slideshow.
Library Research Help
Visit one of UBC Library's branch websites to find out the ways in which we can help.
Alternatively, use BC's provincial AskAway Service below.
Related Research Guides
While this research guide specifically addresses finding and using images, images are often just one section of a subject-based research guide. You'll find many other research guides online--the ones below are some of our favourites.