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Tests and Measures

The books listed on this page are all available online and focus on psychometrics.

Published vs unpublished

Not all instruments are published.

Published tests

Published tests are available from a test publisher, generally for a price, often with caveats due to sensitivity of the test. For example, a graduate student may need permission from an advisor to view a copy of the test. 

Unpublished tests

Many tests remain unpublished AND unavailable. They are described in the literature, but acquiring the test is not possible due to a variety of reasons. It could be that a publisher never decided to pick it up or the test was not reliable or lacked validity. It could be there was a better test out there. And it could be that the test was part of a student dissertation project and, once the dissertation was completed, the student moved on to other things.

Availability of published and unpublished tests

Just because a test is unpublished does not mean it is unavailable. This site covers several resources that have been developed to locate a wide variety of instruments. Some of the resources are more cryptic than others.

  1. Some resources point you to articles that describe validity, reliability, and usage studies but don't always identify how to get the articles.
    • Most of the literature databases do that.
  2. Some resources point you to lists of appropriate tests and provide guidance on getting the test.

Regardless-- all tests are copyrighted. You are legally bound to follow copyright law and, at a minimum, must cite the test and test developer. Some tests are in the public domain, available online, and indicate they may be freely used. But you MUST CITE.

Databases for Identifying Tests

Below is a list of licensed databases (i.e. you have to be part of Pitt to gain access) that are useful for identifying tests/measures.

APA PsycInfo

Produced by: American Psychological Association
Interface: ProQuest
Dates of coverage: 1806 to current
About: APA PsycInfo indexes and abstracts nearly 2,500 journal in the psychological/behavioral sciences, dating back to 1597 with comprehensive coverage beginning in the 1880's. Books, book chapters, and selected dissertations are also included in the PsycInfo database.

Instructions for searching APA PsycInfo to find tests and measures

  • The instructions include how to locate tests that were appended to the original article.
  • ProQuest LibGuide on how to use the PsycINFO database.
    • Contains search tips and examples, sample searches, screencasts, and training videos to help you get the most out of your search experience.

CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature)

Produced by: American Psychological Association
Interface: EBSCOhost
Dates of coverage: 1806 to current
About: Read more about CINAHL 

Instructions for searching CINAHL to find tests

  • Test names can be found in the INSTRUMENT field, the TITLE field, the ABSTRACT field, and the SUBJECT field.
  • Search those fields to locate tests by following this format:
    • Use IN (partial test name OR acronym) OR TI (partial test name OR acronym) OR AB (partial test name OR acronym) OR SU (partial test name OR acronym) 
      • IN (myers briggs OR mbti) OR TI (myers briggs OR mbti) OR AB (myers briggs OR mbti) OR SU (myers briggs OR mbti)
  • Copy and paste the format for a search to create a comprehensive search for studies that used a specific test or measure.
  • Be sure you fill in the name of the test and its acronym-- but use OR to search them both.
  • Notice the search string doesn't specify searching for the FULL test name.
  • Try using the first 2 or 3 significant words first, especially if a person's name is part of the test. (See the Myers Briggs example.)

Mental Measurement Yearbook

Produced by: Buros Center for Testing
Interface: EBSCOhost
Dates of coverage: 1985 to current
About: Produced by the Buros Institute of Mental Measurements at the University of Nebraska, the Mental Measurements Yearbook™ (MMY) provides users with a comprehensive guide to thousands of contemporary testing instruments.

Health and Psychosocial Instruments: HaPI

Produced by: Behavioral Measurement Database Services (BMDS)
Interface: EBSCOhost
Dates of coverage: 1898 to current
About: This bibliographic database is abstracted from hundreds of leading journals in the health and social sciences. HaPI provides comprehensive information about behavioral measurement tools, including those related to medicine and nursing, as well as clinical, personality, social, and developmental psychology.

Primer on Searching Proquest APA PsycInfo

Access ProQuest APA PsycInfo

  • Enter a simple search term, then choose Test and measure -- TM in the drop down box.
    • The drop down box indicates which record field will be searched.
  • This will find articles ABOUT tests/measures, but won't necessarily include the tests themselves.

Search for ptsd with the Test and measure field selected

  • To locate tests that are included in an article, add the term: appended in the 2nd search box.
  • Select Abstract -- AB in the drop down box.

appended added to the search on the 2nd line with the field searched changed to Abstract

  • ONLY those records that indicate the tests have been appended to an article or book/book chapter will be returned.
  • Records for articles or books/book chapters that only describe the test, i.e. the test is not appended as well, will not be returned.

Freely available resources to find tests

TestLink

Produced by: Educational Testing Service

  • ETS provides a catalog of tests you can purchase through ETS, through publishers, and tests in books and journals.
  • Order tests (for a fee) through the "Order a Test" feature.

MIDSS: Measurement Instrument Database for the Social Science

Produced by: Whitaker Institute for Innovation and Societal Change, National University of Ireland, Galway
More information: About us

  • The site is designed to be a repository for instruments that are used to collect data from across the social sciences.
  • There are more than 500 instruments concerned with a wide range of topics (e.g. autism, health, pain).

Substance Use Screening & Assessment Instruments Database

Produced by: Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute, University of Washington

  • This resource is intended to help clinicians and researchers find instruments used for screening and assessment of substance use and substance use disorders.

CMS Measures Inventory Tool

Produced by: US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Last updated: 2021
About: About this site

  • Perform a search by topic
  • Each measure has an endorsement designation by the National Quality Forum
  • Click on a title for additional information including an "environmental scan"
    • The environmental scan lists PubMed citations and PubMed Central articles that cite the measure.

TMdb: Tests and Measures in the Social Sciences: Tests Available in Compilation Volumes

Produced by: Helen Hough, Systems Librarian, Hough@uta.edu with Burt King (through 2013)
Last updated: 2014

  • This site provides a listing of books that include the full text of tests and measures.
  • To obtain any of the volumes listed on this web site:
    • Check PittCat to determine if HSLS carries it.
      • There may be an updated edition of the book.
    • If the volume is unavailable at HSLS, contact the library Document Delivery service to obtain the volume.

Questionnaire Instrument Compendium

Produced by: Alan Reifman, Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, Texas Tech University
Last updated: August 2019

  • The author of this page links only to pages where (a) the full instrument is shown, and (b) the instrument was put on the web by the person who created the instrument.