Thanks to a broad range of resources it's really easy to find images that are perfect for your poster presentation assignments. However there are a few things to be aware of to ensure you aren't plagiarising or breaking any copyright laws. Firstly, you always need to reference any images you find - just because you have found it online doesn't mean it is free to use!
1) Check what kind of search options and rules the image resource has. Many resources allow you to search for and download images but it isn't always easy to tell whether you are allowed to use the image without paying a fee or infringing copyright law. Just searching for images on a search engine like Google or Bing isn't safe enough on it's own - you can't assume the images you find on there are ok to use. Pick the right resources and the right settings (see below) to get images you can use.
2) Use the image in a way that's allowed. Even if you are using a resource that retrieves images that are available to use, there may be limits to what you can do with the image. Many people allow their images to be used via Creative Commons (CC) licencing. CC licencing is a method of notifying anyone wanting to use an image or document of what rules the author has set for use, so some people may allow all kinds of modifications to the image or commercial use as long as credit is given to the author. Others will only allow reuse without modification or editing, so they might not even allow cropping of an image or the addition of text over it. If you need to modify an image to suit your purposes, you will need to check the licence allows you to do so.
3) Cite the image in the right way. The referencing handbook has advice on how to reference an online image. However if you are using for images that are CC (Creative Commons) licenced, particularly in a poster, you will need add a note with the image that satisfies the CC licencing rules. You can find out more about how to do that here
Sites that let you search for CC licenced images.
Please note that for Flickr and Bing you'll need to filter the results to ensure you can use content as you intend, but for Google Images you can use the advanced search linked above to select 'usage rights' to suit your purpose.
When searching for information for your assignments, it is worth doing some planning to help you control the number of results you get and how relevant they are.
If you need help using CINAHL, they have a lot of tutorials here. Also see below for the library helpsheet.
Use the Boolean operators AND and OR to modify your search. Make sure you put these terms in capital letters so that the software recognises them as Boolean operators - most search engines are programmed to ignore common words like these (and also things like the, of, in, etc.) so if they're not in capitals, they won't be used in the search.
AND narrows down the results by making sure the terms connected with it are guaranteed to be in the results e.g.:
infection AND prevention AND cannula
Using OR broadens the search out, by looking for terms that mean the same or similar things. Don't forget to use brackets to join any terms with OR e.g.:
(apnoea OR apnea) AND sleep
Putting an asterisk at the end of a word will search for various different endings e.g. anaesthe* will simultaneously search for anaesthetic and anaesthesia. However, do be aware that other words you don't want may be included, so be careful where you put the asterisk!
You can also use speech marks to search for phrases e.g. "respiratory tract infection" will find these words in this exact order and spelling, rather than finding the words individually (so you won't get information on infections in general).
This video is a reminder of how Boolean searching works.
