Citing from figure in a review

Question

I found an interesting figure in a review which has no reference (I assumed that it belongs to the review author if I am wrong correct me), can I paraphrase the caption or use the figure information and paraphrase it (deal with it as any original data from any article review?). Additionally, what are the elements in the review paper that belong to the review author? Is it just the conclusion and the non referenced figures?

Answer 1

You have to distinguish between 2 things here:

1. Academic: If you cite correctly using a sentence like "Adapted from Smith et al 2015" you can re-use graphics.
2. Legal (copyright): You will have to check the journal's policy if you are allowed to re-use material from them. In most open access journals you can do this unlimited. For some other journals you might need the explicit permission to re-use a figure. This is the usually phrased as something like this "Reprinted with the kind permission of XYZ".

You need to address both points.

Answer 2

It's hard to tell without the exact context, but in all likelihood "yes". Two issues to consider are (1) copyright/plagiarism and (2) accuracy.

1. Don't make an exact copy of the figure or the caption. Reword it and convert it to your intent somehow. Also, cite the review paper as the source.

2. I get a sniff of concern that the curve may be made up ("cartoon") or the like since it is not well referenced or discussed. This is not the end of the world, but just consider the context to see how much this is a real concern. Also, how you will use it (e.g. to make a general point or to do detailed calculations from). You can also cover yourself a bit by actually naming the review author, so it is clear that it is "Smith's" view, not yours.