About Tests and Measures
Tests and measuring instruments are an important part of research and practice in the field of psychology. Most commercial tests and instruments are under strict copyright protection and must be purchased through a publisher. The library has a small collection of commercial tests which may be used for educational purposes (see library policy below).
Unpublished tests may be available in journal articles, books or on internet sites. The aim of this guide is to help you find information about the validity of tests, as well as locate unpublished tests and commercial tests available for purchase.
Adelphi Libraries Test Policy
Tests are located in the CMC Test Room cabinets.
Patron/Student Use: In an effort to protect the validity of the tests, librarian supervision is required for use. In addition, tests are not to be photocopied or circulated.
- Patron/student signs in and leaves ID at Reference Desk
- ID is attached to the sign-in sheet on clip board
- Tests must be used under a librarians's supervision in one of two areas: Test room and Sager Lab (Reference area)
Faculty Use: Faculty who wish to use tests for instructional purposes should contact Professor Madray, CMC Librarian (amadray@adelphi.edu)
Finding Tests and Measures
Finding Tests in PsycTESTS on APA PsycNET
Books Containing Measures/Questionnaires
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Measures for Clinical Practice and Research by Call Number: Reference Desk BF176 .C66 2007ISBN: 0195314905Publication Date: 2007-01-11v. 1. Couples, families, and children -- v. 2. Adults
Available at Garden City, Hauppauge, Hudson Valley and Manhattan Centers -
Handbook of tests and measurement in education and the social sciences. by Call Number: LB3051 .L4543 2000ISBN: 081083863XPublication Date: 2000Contains over 120 instruments of assessment -
Measure of Personality and Social Psychological Attitudes by ISBN: 0125902441Publication Date: 1991Contains 112 measures of assessment and information about them, organized by topic. -
A compendium of neuropsychological tests : administration, norms, and commentary by ISBN: 0195159578Publication Date: 2006Provides a detailed review of about 80 published and unpublished tests. The purpose, source, description, administration and scoring, commentary, and normative data are provided. Sample score sheets and descriptions of the test material are provided for unpublished tests, as well as 31 full instruments. -
Handbook of Psychiatric Measures by Call Number: Reference RC473.P78 A46; CD-Rom Ref RC473.P78 A46ISBN: 1585622184Publication Date: 2008Over 200 measures are reviewed, with 108 copies of instruments provided on the CD-ROM. -
Comprehensive Handbook of Psychological Assessment by Call Number: BF176 .C654 2003 v.1, v.2, v.3, v.4ISBN: 047141610XPublication Date: 2003-09-22v. 1. Intellectual and neuropsychological assessment / v. 2. Personality assessment / v. 3. Behavioral assessment / v. 4. Industrial/organizational assessment
Databases to Use for Descriptions and Reviews of Tests
Contain background information on tests, including reviews and descriptions. To search, use the advanced search screen and enter your keyword term or concept, e.g. ‘empathy’, ‘coping’, ‘domestic violence’ on the first search box provided. In the second line after the ‘AND’ connector add several variations of the term to retrieve measurements using ‘OR’ in between each term on the same line: Example ‘test’ or ‘survey’ or ‘questionnaire’ or ‘scale’ or ‘instrument’.
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Mental Measurements Yearbook This link opens in a new windowContains information, critical reviews and purchasing information for new and revised tests from the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th Yearbooks, covering more than 2,200 commercially-available tests.
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Health & Psychosocial Instruments (HAPI) This link opens in a new windowCovers 1985-present. Contains articles describing questionnaires, rating scales, index measures, scenarios, vignettes, observations, checklists, manuals, etc. Under 'Limit to,' select Primary Source or Secondary Source. Primary Source means the citation is the original source for the instrument. Secondary Source means the instrument was originally developed by another author or for another study. Use reliability and validity as keywords to locate instruments with tested psychometric properties.
Databases to Use to Find Tests
Contain some partial and complete instruments.
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PsycNET This link opens in a new windowCovers 1887-present. Includes mainly journal articles (as well as some books and other material) relevant to psychology. Start with a keyword search to find articles relating to a type of inventory and then combine it with a keyword search using the word appended. This will find instruments relating to a specific subject that are included in the article appendix. For more info see video in left column under "Finding Tests and Measures."
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MEDLINE with Full Text This link opens in a new windowUse MeSH (medical subject headings): questionnaires, psychological tests, health status rating scales, psychiatric status rating scales, and personality inventory. In PubMed, not all instruments fall under MeSH headings, so try a keyword search such as pregnancy AND questionnaire. Other keywords to consider include inventories, scale measure, measurements, survey, and psychometrics.
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ERIC (FirstSearch) This link opens in a new windowCovers 1976-present. ERIC focuses on the U.S. education literature. Phrases to use in your search include: screening tests, diagnostic tests, disability identification, ability identification, and talent identification.
Test Internet Sites
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Tests and Measures in the Social SciencesA searchable index of over 15,000 full-text tests, scales, and measures included in books. Check Alicat/OneSearch to see the library owns it. If not, check ConnectNY. You may also request the book via Interlibrary Loan.
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Test Collection at ETS Database (TestLink)Maintained by the Educational Testing Service, the database contains descriptions of over 25,000 tests. In addition, about 1200 are downloadable from ETS for a fee of $25.00. To search for a downloadable test choose advanced search; in the Order Information field type: downloadable; enter a title or keywords; search.
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Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Beliefs and Behavior Amoung Youths: A Compendium of Assessment ToolsPut out by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and the CDC. Includes 15 measures accessible by clicking on each section number (e.g. section 1) and then the pdf for that section number (sec.1 pdf).
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HSRR (Health Services and Sciences Research Resources)A database put out by the National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR). Some entire questionnaires are provided. Search by Instruments/Indices.
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Stanford Patient Education Research Center Research InstrumentsIncludes scales for research subjects with chronic diseases in English and Spanish These scales may be used at no cost thanks to funding from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR).
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CHIPTS Instrument BankDirectory of instruments used by the Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services at UCLA. Includes 32 instruments including Abuse Assessment Screen, Depression (Thai Version), Emotional Social Support, and Quality of Life, HIV.