A picture is worth a thousand words. The same is true for when researchers share their findings in the form of a poster presentation in professional settings. Since visual media is highly pervasive in our society, particularly online, it is important to think critically about the images we are being bombarded with virtually.
In this section we will learn about visual literacy and how it is vital to create, interpret, analyze and use images ethically. And for the activity in this step, you will either locate an image or create one from scratch that relates to your research findings and cite it appropriately (if needed) for your poster presentation.
Figure 1: Visual Literacy Array based on ACRL’s Visual Literacy Standards by D. Hattwig, K. Bussert, and A. Medaille. Copyright 2013 The Johns Hopkins University Press. This image first appeared in PORTAL: LIBRARIES AND THE ACADEMY, Volume 13, Issue 1, January 2013, p. 75.
According to the Association of College and Research Libraries, Visual literacy is a “set of abilities that enables an individual to effectively find, interpret, evaluate, use, and create images and visual media.” Because use of visuals is interdisciplinary, it is essential to become mindful of how to use and think critically about images. The main concepts for being visually literate include being able to define the image need, finding images, interpreting/analyzing images, evaluating reliability of images, using images effectively, creating visual media, and citing the visual.
The Association of College and Research Libraries. ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. (ACRL, 2011). http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/visualliteracy.
Most (but not all) of these image repositories are created under either a completely unrestricted use license, or a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. This means that you can download, use, manipulate, share, distribute, or otherwise use them for whatever purpose you'd like without permission. It is strongly recommended that you credit the creator(s) of the image, but it is not necessary.
Resources for creating visualizations and infographics for your poster, such as:
A listing of Drexel University Libraries resources for locating a variety of images.
Just like the articles and books that you use in your papers, images should also be cited. It's important to use images you find on reliable websites, like museums and databases, because those sites will usually include information you need to properly cite an image. Whether you had to obtain permission or it was freely available to use, it is necessary to give credit to the creator or copyright holder. Make sure to read the usage rights statements on websites to understand if there is specific wording that needs to be used.
For your poster, you will likely cite in two areas:
Consult the style guide examples in this guide for examples.
APA Style - Audiovisual Media examples
Last-name, First-name or Username. “Title of Image.” Medium of work. Date of resource creation. Name of site. URL
Last-name, first-name initial. (Year of creation). Title of image or description of work. [Type of work]. Website. URL