Locate sources related to the STEM-related issue you chose for your project. For each source, create an APA citation that would appear on a references list.  

Sources:

Canaday, F. T., Georas, S. N., & Croft, D. P. (2024). Examining the impact of air pollution, climate change, and social determinants of health on asthma and environmental justice. Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine, 30(3), 276–280. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCP.00000  

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2025, June). Research on health effects from air pollution. https://www.epa.gov/air-research/research-health-effects-air-pollution#long-term-short-term

Chen, F., Zhang, W., Mfarrej, M. F. B., Saleem, M. H., Khan, K. A., Ma, J., Raposo, A., & Han, H. (2024). Breathing in danger: Understanding the multifaceted impact of air pollution on health impacts. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 280, 116532. 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116532  

Do the three sources directly connect to your STEM-related issue? 
 
-Your sources don’t need to state the exact same information, but they should all connect to your STEM-related issue (that was chosen in module two). 
-Make sure each source directly connects to a part of your topic and explain how they connect in your response.  
 
 

How do the three sources relate to your knowledge of the issue at this point? 
 
-Compare what you knew before reading these sources, to what you know now, after reading.  
-Avoid general statements, give specific details 
 
 

How do the three sources relate to your desired knowledge of the issue? 

 
-Discuss your research goals and how each source will help satisfy those.  
-Be specific, give examples, and name the studies alongside those examples. 
-Go beyond stating what is in these sources, and discuss how they support your research 

Example: The EPA research also draws clear connections between public health and environmental engineering, an area I will focus on for my final project. The ScienceDirect article will help me learn more about respiratory symptoms and brain development under varying levels of air pollution. The PubMed study reviews lung function and the connections between genetics and the environment. 

Source chosen: 

Breathing in danger: Understanding the multifaceted impact of air pollution on health impacts. By: Chen, F., Zhang, W., Mfarrej, M. F. B., Saleem, M. H., Khan, K. A., Ma, J., Raposo, A., & Han, H. 
 

Do you recognize the source of the information?  
 

-Reflect on your level of familiarity with the source, which includes the website, authors, and/or publisher. Discuss if you have seen any of these previously, sharing a few details if so.  

-If you do not recognize the source, that’s okay, explain that this is new to you. 
 

Does the content of the source elicit an emotional response in you? If so, could this be the result of bias?  

 
-Discuss what negative or positive emotions arise after reading this specific source. Your answer will be too vague if you discuss how you feel about the topic alone; it must be about the source and its content.  
-Explore the “why” behind the emotions that surface for you. Consider and talk about how these feelings may be influenced by your personal bias (see vocabulary sheet for a definition of bias). 
 

Example: My cousin has asthma, and I’ve seen how air pollutants impact her, so I understand that’s where my bias may be coming from. When I visit her, I see the smog that seems to hover over her community, and I wish I could do something about it.

Does the source fit the purpose of your research?  

  
-Examine the content of this article and the relevance it has for your final project. The source material must not only fit within the topic that you're writing about, but it must also provide direct evidence or examples that you can use throughout your assignments in this class.  
-Sources used should support your specific argument and offer relevant details on that argument. 
 

Example: Yes, my paper is focused on the economic and health impacts of air pollution in the United States. This paper will support my writing purpose because it looks at existing data and cutting-edge tracking technologies to explain the current consequences of air pollution. I am seeking to understand where air pollution is coming from and how it will continue to impact future generations, and this research article explains that.   





 
How does this source shape your initial understanding of the issue? 

 
-Describe any new knowledge gained from this source 
-Discuss how this source changed, extended, or clarified your prior understanding 
-Give specific details 

What do you know about where this source comes from?  

-Identify your knowledge of the publisher, authors, and website 
-Research the authors' credentials, previous publications, and expertise in this field.  
-Consider the URL domain (.edu, .gov, .org) and how that may impact credibility 
-Reflect on whether (or not) knowing the origins of this material changes your analysis of it. 
  

Do you think it is reliable?  
 
-Use your answers to the previous question, to respond here.  
-Discuss your findings on the authority of the authors, the currency of the material, the levels of objectivity, and the transparency of the data collection to comment on the source's reliability.  

When was it published?  

  
-Comment on the date this article was published and discuss if that date makes the information current enough to be relevant for your research topic.  
-Is the information in the source accurate? Is the source peer-reviewed?  
-Research this publisher's and/or websites' peer review process. Use this information to determine the sources' likely levels of academic rigor and, therefore, their probable accuracy. 
  

Does it include references for facts and statements?  
 
-Investigate the source for in-text citations and a references page. 
-Analyze if statements are made and supported by facts or appear to be based on emotion and/or bias.  
-Consider the credibility of cited sources  
-Comment on your findings in your response. 

Who wrote it?  Would you consider them an authority on the issue?  

-Research all authors' educational and professional experience for alignment with the topic. Ensure their experience is relevant to the topic and qualifies them as experts in this field, before considering them an authority on the issue.  

Example: The authors of this article are researchers associated with well-known universities worldwide. Many of them work in the environmental sciences department. For example, Fu Chen (the primary contributor) is a professor of social-ecological system reconstruction at the University of Hohai in Nanjing, China (Chen et al., 2024). ScienceDirect clearly notes where each author and editor works, with links to their other research. Collaboration among individuals worldwide in environmental studies increases the quality of the article through collaborative effort and combined expertise.   

How does this source’s reliability (or unreliability) impact research on your issue? 

 
-Reflect on how the source's reliability (see vocabulary sheet) or lack of it impacts your confidence in learning from and using it. 
-Consider here your summary of whether you can trust the data presented based on your previous responses in this section  
 




 

Are there other sources that support the information in this one?  

  
-Compare this source to other credible sources on this topic. -Determine if the evidence presented elsewhere aligns or conflicts with this source. 
-Explain your comparisons in your response.  
 

Does the information in other sources confirm or contradict facts or statements in this one?  
 
-Provide specific examples from your examination process from the previous question. 
-Highlight examples of content in other sources, aligning and/or differing from your chosen source. 

 



What role does this source play in supporting or challenging your understanding of the issue?  
 
-Analyze and discuss how this source contains information that confirms or challenges your understanding of your selected STEM topic.  
-Provide examples from the source and discuss them in relation to your own prior understanding or new perspective. 

Is the source you are evaluating the original source of the information?  

-Search for this article elsewhere online. If other websites consistently link back to this one, it’s likely the original.   
-check to see if the evidence is in reference to another source through analyzing in-text citations  
-Look for in-text phrases that would signal this information is coming from elsewhere, such as “According to the research done by____.” 
-Explore the sources page to see if it lists it as an original source. Phrases such as “primary literature” or “original research” are often a good indication of originality.  

Does the source include the entire article, video, research study, and so on, or is it an edited or summarized version?  

  
-Analyze the content to determine if this is the entire document or an excerpt from another document.  

-Summarized versions often shorten or focus on key points instead of presenting the entire study 
-Original sources are typically found in well-known journals, with a DOI, written by the individuals who conducted the research 
-Original sources and contain methods, results, conclusions, and discussions section. 
 

Does the source rely on another source for most of its information?  

 
 
-Analyze and discuss the amount of cited material vs original material. 
-Does this source present its own research, or does it mostly reference other studies? 
-Look for in-text citations and phrases like “According to the research done by ______”. 
  




 

How does knowing the origin of this information affect your confidence in using it for research on your issue?  

 
-Review your findings from the previous questions and use this information to identify your level of confidence in the source.  
-Explain your reasoning behind your level of confidence (high, moderate, or low). 

Example: Knowing that the source of this information is a reputable, peer-reviewed journal on ScienceDirect makes me confident that the content is trustworthy. Beyond that, the authors and editors are listed transparently and are all credible, as they are experts in their fields. The authors also represent multiple countries, which makes their findings more comprehensive and less geographically based. Finally, the article includes a disclosure of non-competing interests and funding at the end, which enhances its trustworthiness.   

After evaluating the source using the SIFT method, do you think that the source is credible and reliable enough to help you understand the issue?  
 
-When evaluating the source, consider each stage of the SIFT method that you have gone through thus far:
 

• Stop and Reflect

• Investigate the Source

• Find Reliable Coverage

• Trace Claims
  
  -Equally consider each stage of the SIFT method, one stage is not more important than the others. 
  - Discuss the details of your findings based on this framework. 
   
  
  
   

Is the source relevant to the STEM-related issue you chose for your project?  

  
-Investigate how closely related this article is to the STEM-related issue topic that you have selected. 
-Explain how it relates or does not relate to your issue (potential solutions, causes of the issue, etc.). 
 

Does the source have the information you need for your project?  

-Give specific examples of evidence that you use from this source in your project and explain how this information will support your work. 
-Be sure to properly cite these examples with in-text citations. 
-You may need to review the final project rubric and template before developing this response. 
 
Example: This article will help me with the trends in data, as there is a section titled "New Findings and Insights" that reviews new and emerging pollutants, secondary pollutants, and socio-economic impacts (Chen et al., 2024). 

Does the source show any signs of bias that affect how you interpret or summarize the issue?  

  
-Review the full source for signs of bias. Bias in a source may show up in various ways, including: 
-The use of emotional language 
-Questionable financial relationships for funding 
-Claims that are unsupported 
-Missing Viewpoints 
-Conflicts of interest 
-Describe any potential bias, or lack of, that you notice and explain how that will impact your understanding of the issue.