Tests and Measures

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Unpublished tests

Many tests remain unpublished AND unavailable.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Availability of published and unpublished tests

Just because a test is unpublished does not mean it is unavailable.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.
   • The ADAI Substance Use Screening & Assessment Instruments database attempts to link to test access points.
   • TMdb is an older site; it points to books that have the actual test instruments in them.

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.

Test Publishers and Distributors

From Oxford University Press. This is a list of 12 or so test publishers and distributors (a few have combined under Pearson). It is not possible to know who publishes which tests.

If you cannot find a publisher for your test, use the databases below to locate articles on measurement development. You may run across information about ordering or, failing that, information to contact an author.

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: Ovid
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

• Search using (primary words) for a test, then add .tm. at the end
  • EX: (drug or drugs or substance or substances).tm.
  • EX: (efficacy).tm.
• Add additional terms using "and"
  • (drug or drugs or substance or substances).tm. and (teen* or adolescen* or youth)
  • The *asterisk will find: teen(s), teenager(s); adolescent(s), adolescence
• To find tests that were added to the article:
  • (drug or drugs or substance or substances).tm. and (teen* or adolescen* or youth) and appended.ab.
  • Go broader if necessary: (drug or drugs or substance or substances).tm. and appended.ab.

COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments)

Produced by: COSMIN
Interface: COSMIN
About: The goal of COSMIN is to help you select the most suitable outcome measurement instruments. COSMIN aims to improve the selection of outcome measurement instruments both in research and in clinical practice by developing methodology and practical tools for selecting the most suitable outcome measurement instrument. Read more about COSMIN

As you look for outcome measures, you will notice that there are competing instruments for measuring the same outcomes or conditions. How do you choose? That is why the COSMIN initiative was developed.

There are 6 major components to COSMIN. 

• I’m deciding what to measure
  • COSMIN courses & resources
• I’m looking for available outcome measurement instruments
  • Make sure you are measuring the right outcome with Core Outcome Sets
  • Clinical outcome sets
    • Patient-centered outcomes
• I want to select the most suitable outcome measurement instrument
• I’m conducting a study on measurement properties
• I’m conducting a systematic review of outcome measurement instruments
• I’m developing a Core Outcome Set

CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature)

Produced by: EBSCO
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.

• Search for tests for purchase

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.

• Contact BMDS for assistance in getting tests
• How to search HaPI: from BMDS

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.