Using Images Research Guide

Image Search Engines

How to do  a Google Image Search

1. To search for an image go to Google Images.
2. Type what you want into the search box and press enter.
3. The is a tool button when click gives you filter bar that allows you filter your results by:
   1. Size: large, medium, and icon
   2. Color: show images that are black and white or transparent
   3. Usage rights: filters out images that are not freely available
   4. Type: Clip art, line drawing and Gifs
   5. Time: allows you to search image in certain time frames
   6. Clear: removes the filters you have applied. You can use more than one filter to a search
4. You can also search by filetype by adding the filetype after the search:
   1. Library books filetype:png
   2. Library books filetype: jpg
5. Sometimes the top row of images are ads so just skip them
6. Click the image to view a callout box located on right side of the screen.  This will show you more information about image such a file format, author and related images.

Understanding terms for free images

• Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. There are various types of Creative Commons licenses that range from allowing any type of use with no attribution to allowing only certain uses and no changes.
• Public Domain Works in the public domain are those whose copyrights have expired, have been forfeited, or are inapplicable. Finding something on the internet does not mean it is in the public domain.
• Royalty-free images aren’t necessarily free. In most cases, you’ll have to pay a one-time fee to obtain the rights to use the image. Then you can use it as many times as you like. The “free” in “royalty-free” only means that you do not have to pay royalties to the owner of the image every time you use it

Attribution

While some licenses say no attribution is required, it is polite to attribute if we can.  At least an URL should be given in case someone would like to see more information about the image.

Attibution is a legal requirement.

Correct attributions should have:

• Title: The title of the image.

• Author: The name of the creator.

• Source: The URL where the image is hosted (plus optional link to author profile).

• License: The type of Creative Commons license it is available under, including a link to the relevant license.

Example: “Winter in town”, by David J, licensed under CC BY 2.0

Attribution Builders:

• Open Washington Attribution Builder

• Creative Commons