Library Guides: PSYC 571: Tests and Measurements (Harrisburg): Identifying Tests for Your Thesis/Research Project

Introduction

Identifying the best tests for your thesis or research project can be challenging. There may be many tests available, each for different purposes and populations, and each of different levels of quality.

One place to start is by exploring tests that are widely used and have been peer-reviewed by other researchers. Below are some steps and resources.

Step 1: Explore Tests That Are Commonly Used and Peer Reviewed

NOTE: These sources do NOT provide copies of tests. Instead, they give you basic information such as the test name, purpose, population, scoring system, validity, price, and publisher.

Mental Measurements Yearbook by Buros Institute; Janet F. Carlson (Editor); Kurt F. Geisinger (Editor); Jessica L. Jonson (Editor)
Call Number: REF BF431 .M45
ISBN: 0910674639
Publication Date: 1938-present
Provides critical reviews on the construction, use, and validity of all commercially available tests published in English. If visiting the library isn't convenient for you, you can view a list of all tests profiled in the MMY from 1985 to the present on the Buros Institute Tests Reviewed page. Once you know the name of a desired test, you can purchase a review on the Buros Test Reviews Online site. During COVID-19, you may also be able to view older editions through the Hathi ETAS program.
Test Critiques: by Test Corporation of America
Call Number: REF BF176 .T419
Publication Date: 1984-present
Another resource for reviews of tests.

Step 2: Identify Additional Tests (if needed)

You can identify additional tests using these resources. Note, however, that reliability/validity information and the full text of the test may not be freely available for every item.

PsycTESTS
The library's best database for Psychology instruments. To focus on entries that provide test questions, choose "full text." If you do so, each result will include a document with a cover-page that indicates the author(s), original source, and a statement regarding the authors' permission for using the test. Following the cover page is the test itself.

PsycTESTS is a research database that provides access to psychological tests, measures, scales, surveys, and other assessments as well as descriptive information about the test and its development and administration.
Health & Psychosocial Instruments - HAPI
Identifies health-related tests in journal articles. Though focused on medicine and nursing, some psychological tests are included.

Health and Psychosocial Instruments features material on unpublished information-gathering tools for clinicians that are discussed in journal articles, such as questionnaires, interview schedules, tests, checklists, rating and other scales, coding schemes, and projective techniques. The majority of tools are in medical and nursing areas such pain measurement, quality of life assessment, and drug efficacy evaluation. However, HaPI also includes tests used in medically related disciplines such as psychology, social work, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech & hearing therapy.
Catalog (Penn State University Libraries catalog)
To find books on testing, add words such as "assessment," "instruments," "measurement," "research," "scaling," or "testing" to your search.

This is the online catalog of materials owned by Penn State Libraries. All formats (books, journals, audiovisuals, maps, recordings, etc.) are included. Circulation status for individual items is also provided. Coverage: Presently contains about 7 million records. Updates: Continuous up-to-the-minute as new records are added.

Google Book Search
Searches the full-text of millions of books.
ETS Test Link
ETS, the same company that developed the SAT and the GRE, has one of the largest libraries of testing instruments in the world. Its catalog, TestLink, lists more than 25,000 tests that you can purchase from ETS or obtain elsewhere.

Search Tips

Finding the best tests and measurements for your project can be challenging. As you work through the steps above, here are some general tips:

“Truncate” (*) your keyword searches so that library databases will search for all forms of the root word
- For instance, assess* will find books and articles that have “assessment” or “assessing” in the title
Try related and broader words, especially if you are finding too few results.
- For instance, if you’d like to measure problem-solving ability in 16 to 21-year olds, try both "adolescents," "high school," and related words. Also, you can try "intelligence" (a broader term) instead of “problem-solving ability”
Carefully note every clue you find regarding your tests, their authors, and their publishers, including:
- Abbreviations, popular names, and “official” or spelled-out names of your tests
- Names of all authors who were involved in the development of the tests
- Corporations that published the tests, or universities where the tests' authors work
- Alternative versions and new editions of the tests
On the internet, many free versions of tests are edited or shortened -- they are not the complete, original tests that you are expected to use. Be cautious about using them