LibGuides: Education: Find Tests and Measures

Finding tests and measures is challenging

No database provides free, full-text copies of all tests and measurements
Many tests are owned by test companies that charge to use their tests
Some tests can only be purchased/used by licensed professionals
Some tests are discussed or published in journal articles or books. While the full text may be available as an appendix, you may need to contact the author directly for full text or permission to use the test

Find reviews or information about tests

Mental Measurements Yearbook This link opens in a new window
Contains full-text information about commercially available psychological tests for purchase including: test name, test author(s), date of publication, reviewers, scores, publisher and acronyms. Doesn’t include actual test instruments. Coverage: 1985 - present

Sources of Freely Available Tests
Bernadette Lear at Penn State Libraries has compiled a list of resources for finding and using Tests & Measures.
eBook: Measures for clinical practice and research: A sourcebook - Adults
Volume 1/2 contains descriptions, reviews and some full text of 100's of instruments for adults.
eBook: Measures for clinical practice and research: A sourcebook - Couples, families, and children
Volume 2/2 contains descriptions, reviews and some full text of 100's of instruments for couples, families, and children
ETS TestLink (free website)
A repository of 25,000+ Education-related standardized tests from around the world. Most tests were published before 2000.

Find tests in journal articles

Some authors will include copies (or abridged copies) of the tests they used in the journal articles they publish. They will also often discuss the test itself and any limitations, or changes they made.

PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
Find journal articles in PsycInfo that use surveys. Use the Multi-field search to search for your topic. Type "appended" into one of the search rows and change the search field to "tm: Tests & Measures". This should only return results that use tests and measures AND that mention the word "appended" in their article.

ERIC (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Find journal articles in ERIC that use surveys. Create a New Search for your topic. Before clicking Search, scroll down to the bottom of New Search page on ERIC. Under "Publication Type", select "Tests /Questionnaires" This should only return results that used Tests/Questionnaires in their methodology.

Find the full text of tests

It's not always possible to find the full text of an instrument. Try these tips:

• Google the test to see if it's commercially available or if the author has given permission to use it

• Search databases for an appended copy of the test (see Find tests in journal articles above)

Contact the author (sample permission letter)
Contact the author with a short email explaining who you are, and why you're interested in their test. They may deny your request, but it's worth a shot. Sample permission letter from Saint Mary's University
Strategies to get copies of tests
Bernadette Lear at Penn State Libraries has compiled a great list of tips for getting the full text of Tests & Measures.