QUICK TIPS FOR FINDING MEASUREMENT TOOLS
To Locate the Full-Text of an Instrument:
- For commerically published tests,
- Verify test name in ETS Test Link or Tests in Print (TIP). You may find availability information in here also.
- Locate the test publisher if searching for a commercially available test to purchase. Directories of test publisher addresses appear in standard measurement works, such as Mental Measurements Yearbook (MMY), TIP, or also in publishers’ catalogs. Or, try Google for publisher information.
- For unpublished tests,
- Verify the test name in the Directory of Unpublished Experimental Mental Measures, ETS Test Link, PubMed, or the Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HAPI) database.
- To locate the full-text, try searching subject-appropriate databases, such as CINAHL, PsycINFO, ERIC, PubMed, or HAPI, to identify journal articles or library catalogs to locate books and dissertations, which may include the full-text of some instruments. Or try Google, as some tests may appear on the Internet.
If no full-text available, contact the author who created the test.
To Find an Instrument to Measure a Variable:
- Identify the variable you would like to measure, such as depression, quality of life, etc.
- Use a standard source such as the ETS Test Link (search by descriptor),
TIP, or HAPI, or search the research literature, such
as CINAHL, ERIC, HAPI, PubMed, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts,
using special search fields to find studies that have used instruments to
measure a variable.
- Look at standard test reviews to insure appropriate use and coverage.
To Find a Review of an Instrument:
- Locate a standard review in the MMY, Test Critiques, or Test Reviews Online.
- If a standard review is not available, check for reviews or information on validity and reliability in the research literature, such as HAPI, CINAHL, ERIC, PsycINFO, or PubMed.
For more detailed help, try the Scenarios linked from the navigation bar in this Finding Measurement Tools tutorial.
