Citation Standards for Curriculum Resources
The content covered in Saskatchewan Polytechnic courses comes from many sources, such as:
textbooks, instructor resources provided with textbooks, industry-related publications and forms,
resources available through Library subscription databases, and materials available on the Internet.
Most of this third-party material is copyrighted and does not provide generous terms for reuse in an
educational context.
In-house creation and production of student materials often includes third-party copyrighted content.
In-house materials may be distributed in multiple ways. Some of these ways include: inclusion in an
online course, distribution as a handout to students in class, sale through the campus bookstores, or
sharing through a network drive accessible to students.
The use of copyrighted third-party material contained in these in-house creations must be identified.
While APA notation is the standard adopted by Saskatchewan Polytechnic, strict adherence to this
format is not recommended for in-house material. One reason for this is lengthy references can
interfere with presenting content in the most effective manner for learning. As well, items included in
course material, such as graphics from the Internet, do not provide enough information for a complete
APA reference entry. To balance these competing interests, the standards described in this document
define the minimum amount of information required to identify third-party material. This information is
separated into what information must be used as a citation and what information needs to appear in a
reference list.
Principles:
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The use of third-party copyrighted material must be identified in course resources, including both
digital and paper materials.
Referencing of material should reflect the minimum amount of information needed. Complete APA
citations are not necessary or desirable in many situations.
A “Copyrighted Materials” page will be included in online courses and other in-house resources.
Additional reference information will be placed on this page and not within the course content.
The program area or content expert is responsible for providing citation and reference information.
The minimum citation information will be a smaller font size than the content.
The minimum standard format for a particular type of content may not fit all situations. As long as
all the required information for the minimum standard is saved, the format may vary.
The following pages provide examples of standards for citing and referencing material used in courses.
Minimum citations standards and examples are provided for:
 Image Examples
 Video Examples
 Text Examples
 Copyrighted Materials Page Example
Image Examples
Graphic images used in Saskatchewan Polytechnic curriculum resources can come from many sources.
Examples include graphic images created in-house, stock images, images downloaded from the Internet,
or images scanned from a paper source. The minimum standard for labelling these images is provided
below along with the use, if required, of a reference entry in the Copyrighted Materials page.
Royalty-free stock images (iStockPhoto, DepositPhotos, Clipart.com)
Royalty-free stock images may be purchased from many different sites. Terms and conditions of use
vary among these sites. Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s use of these images within curriculum resources is
considered non-commercial and, since the distribution of material is limited to students taking the
course, the use is not public.
Minimum Standard:
This type of graphic does not require a citation below the image. A watermark
with the site name and creator name may be added. Use a two-letter file
naming convention when purchasing the image. Images downloaded from a
royalty-free stock image site are labelled with the inventory number. Possible
abbreviations include:
 DP: DepositPhotos
 IS: iStockPhoto
 CA: ClipArt
A one or two-word description could be added to the filename:
Filename: bungee_jump_DP_15028561_xs.png
Copyrighted Materials page: No entry required.
Images used under fair dealing (downloaded from the Internet)
An image downloaded from a public page on the Internet can be justified as a fair dealing when
used in curriculum resources. The fair dealing guidelines are met as the purpose is for
education, distribution is limited, and, as long as one or a small number of images are used
from one web site, the amount can be considered a short excerpt.
Minimum Standard:
 “Source:” plus a description and associated URL.
 If an active link is not desired, the URL may be omitted from the
content page and only appear on the “Copyrighted Materials”
page.
Source: Atlantic International University
Copyright Office
Copyrighted Materials page:
 An entry must be added to the “Fair Dealing” section.
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Scanned Images
Scanning images from a paper source, such as a book or journal, requires more citation, as the full
citation information is available. The scanned image can still be used under fair dealing for the same
reasons as an image downloaded from the Internet. It is recommended that scanned images only be
included if they are directly related to the page / resource content and only a small percentage scanned
rather than the 10% guideline. One reason for this is an image, especially a detailed and complex
drawing, could be considered a complete work.
Minimum Standard:
 Provide a title and in-text citation
Copyrighted Materials page:
 Add a complete reference entry to the “Fair Dealing”
section.
Bones of the Foot
Source: Shier, D. et al., 2009, p. 162
Creative Commons Images
Images shared through a Creative Commons license can have different types of licenses. These licenses
use a combination of the attributes: BY (attribution), NC (non-commercial), ND (no derivatives), and SA
(share-alike). Generally, a license for an image will have at least the BY attribute. Due to conditions of
the license, the SA attribute may not be appropriate for materials sold through campus bookstores.
Minimum Standard:
 “Source:” plus a short description of the source.
 The description should include the organization or creator name,
but does not have to contain the link (URL).
Source: ARHP (www.arhp.org)
Copyright Office
Copyrighted Materials page:
 The complete URL to the page and CC license type or link to
license type must be listed in the “Permissions” section.
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Images from Instructor Resources
Images may be made available by the publisher as part of the instructor resources for a
textbook. Generally, these images to be used in password-protected curriculum resources as
long as the textbook is a required purchase for students taking the course.
Minimum Standard:
 Source: plus a citation (author, year).
 If the image has been watermarked with
copyright information as shown in this example,
the image does not require the “Source:”
citation, but an entry to the “Copyrighted
Materials” page is required.
Copyrighted Materials page:
 Add a complete reference entry to the “Fair
Dealing” section.
Saskatchewan Polytechnic Graphic Images
Saskatchewan Polytechnic graphic artists create many line drawings and other artwork for inclusion in
curriculum resources. Graphics may be watermarked to identify Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s intellectual
property.
Minimum Standard:
 Image may be watermarked with
“Saskatchewan Polytechic” or “Sask Polytech”
as part of the image.
Copyrighted Materials page:
 No entry required.
Copyright Office
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Saskatchewan Polytechnic Interactive Graphics
Images may be used to create an interactive graphic and these images could come from multiple
sources. Images used as part of an interactive graphic will require citation if they would have required
citation when used as a stand-alone image. In the example below, some of the images are stock images,
while some are from the instructor resources provided by a publisher when a required textbook is
selected for a course.
Minimum Standard:
 Interactive graphics must
identify when images requiring
citation are included as shown
in the example.
Copyrighted Materials page:
 Include a reference entry
corresponding to the use as a
stand-alone image.
Source: Some pictures from Seigel, et. al, 2013
Video Examples
External streaming videos, such as videos available on YouTube, may be included within curriculum
resources by linking to the video or using an embedded player. Other types of video include creating
videos using a software application or accessing videos through campus library subscriptions.
YouTube / External Site Videos
Link to the video or use an embedded player as shown in the example. Providing the title of the video
and a copy of the link may be desirable to assist students to locate the video. Generally, videos may not
be downloaded or the video stream captured and stored on Saskatchewan Polytechnic servers.
Minimum Standard:
 If a link or embedded player is used, no
citation information is required.
 If the video or embedded player does not
provide any reference information,
“Source:” plus a text description should be
added.
 In this example, the title and the streaming
service (YouTube) are identified. No further
citation is required.
Copyrighted Materials page:
 No entry required.
Copyright Office
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Saskatchewan Polytechnic-Created Videos
Videos may be created by Saskatchewan Polytechnic media production employees or by other
employees using purchased or web-based video-making software.
Minimum Standard:
 Create a title and/or ending credits that
indicates the video is Saskatchewan
Polytechnic’s intellectual property.
 This example video did not allow the
insertion of credits. For these situations,
add the institution name to the heading or
to the content text. For example, “Please
view the following Saskatchewan
Polytechnic video ...”
Copyrighted Materials page:
 No entry required.
Saskatchewan Polytechnic Library Video Subscriptions
Saskatchewan Polytechnic Library has access to many streaming videos through their subscription
services. Examples of streaming video services include videos from Films on Demand or CBC Curio.
Most of these services allow the use of embedded players to access the video link.
Minimum Standard:
 Add a line stating the video is available through a Saskatchewan Polytechnic Library subscription.
 The “Lead by Example” video on the right has a title and credit line information.
 The example video on the left requires a title and a credit line acknowledging the streaming source
is CBC Curio.
Copyrighted Materials page:
 No entry required.
Copyright Office
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Text Examples
Short excerpts of text may be used within curriculum resources as a fair dealing for the purpose of
education. The excerpts must conform with our Fair Dealing Guidelines.
Adapted Material
Adaptations that closely resemble the original work and have not just used the ideas behind the work
must be acknowledged.
Minimum standard:
 “Source: Adapted from”, plus an in-text
citation on the page.
Copyrighted Materials page:
 Add a reference entry to the “Fair Dealing”
section.
Source: Adapted from Rossman and Rossman, 1980
Reproductions
Minimum Standard:
 If a link is provided to the third-party material stored on an external server, no further referencing is
required.
 If the reference links to a copy of the excerpt stored within the course or on Saskatchewan
Polytechnic servers, citation and referencing is required as shown below.
 The copy of the excerpt must adhere to the Saskatchewan Polytechnic fair dealing guidelines,
including labelling the copy with the fair dealing notice.
Copyrighted Materials page:
 A reference entry in the “Fair Dealing” section is required if a copy of the excerpt is stored on our
network.
Copyright Office
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Copyrighted Materials Page
This page is a required page in an online course. For previously created courses, this page may be added
from the course shell. For other types of curriculum resources, either create a copyrighted material
page as shown below or include the information as part of a reference list in the resource.
The Copyrighted Materials page includes these sections:
 Copyright Statement
 Used with Permission/Licensed
 Used under Fair Dealing
Copyrighted Materials Page
Saskatchewan Polytechnic
No part of the work(s) contained herein may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping of information and
retrieval systems - without written consent of Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
The following third-party material has been used within this course:
Used with Permission / Licensed
Images
ARHP (Association of Reproductive Health Professionals). (n.d.).
Choosing a Birth Control Method. Retrieved from http://www.arhp.org/Publications-andResources/Quick-Reference-Guide-for-Clinicians/choosing/Emergency-contraception.
[CC BY-NC-ND]
Seigel, L., Brown, G., Hoffman, R. (2013).
CRIM, 2nd Canadian Edition. ON, Canada: Nelson Education [Instructor Resources].
Text Excerpts
None
Used under Fair Dealing
This material has been included under a fair dealing purpose. Any further distribution must follow the
Saskatchewan Polytechnic fair dealing guidelines.
Images
Atlantic International University
Principles of Andragogy Course. Retrieved from
http://courses.aiu.edu/Priciples%20of%20Andragogy.html.
Shier, D., Butler, J., & Lewis, R. (2009).
Hole’s essentials of human anatomy & physiology, 10th Ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Text Excerpts
Anderson, L.E. & Bolt, S.B. (2011).
Professionalism Skills for Workplace Success (2nd ed.) New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Rossman, M.E. and Rossman, M.H. (1990).
The Rossman Adult Learning Inventory: Creating awareness of adult development. New
Directions for Adult and Continuing Education 1990(45), 13-26.
Copyright Office
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