What are Tests and Measurements?

Tests and Measures

Tests and measures are the tools researchers use to measure, assess, or diagnose a phenomena/concept in the social sciences. They often come in the form of a questionnaire or an inventory. Test and measures are created and validated by researchers to measure specific concepts or conditions. Words used to describe test and measures include:

Survey
Instrument
Scale
Questionnaire
Test
Measure
Measurement
Assessment
Inventory

If you know the exact name of the test, measure, or inventory, put the name in quotations as this will help you find the exact item you are looking for.

Published verses unpublished

Knowing if a test is published or unpublished changes how you search for it. Not all tests and measures are published while others are commercially licensed. Published or commercial tests tend to be only accessible via purchase. You can find information about published tests in Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print, the ETS Test Collection Database, or via a web search tool like google.

The list of databases below offers you places to search for unpublished or non-commercial tests. They can sometimes be found in journal articles, PsycTests, or online.

Contact Author

Contacting the researcher or author of the test is an option to get a copy of a test or measure. Many researchers post their survey or tests to their professional websites while others may send them to you directly if you contact them. Many authors work for universities or colleges, allowing you to find their contact informational and send them an email asking about their survey. You can tell them you are a student or a researcher working on a project and would like to use or look at their survey.

Databases for Test & Measures

APA PsycTests This link opens in a new window
APA PscyTests provides access to thousands of psychological and educational tests, measures, scales, surveys, and other assessments. Descriptive information, including its development and administration, is available for all records. Many records include the full text of the test as well as scoring guides and instructions on how to use the test.
ETS Test Collection This link opens in a new window
The Test Collection at ETS (Educational Testing Service) is a database of more than 25,000 tests and other measurement devices. Provides information on tests from the early 1900s to the present. The tests in this collection are from a variety of U.S. publishers and individual test authors. Foreign tests are also included in the collection, including some from Canada, Great Britain and Australia. How to search.
Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print This link opens in a new window
Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests In Print includes information about 3,000+ psychological, educational, and related fields' testing and assessment instruments. Tests in Print (TIP) is a comprehensive bibliography to all known commercially available tests that are currently in print in the English language, and includes test purpose, test publisher, in-print status, price, test acronym, intended test population, administration times, publication date(s), and test author(s).

Websites for Purchasing or Finding Tests & Measures

The following websites provide information and support for finding particular tests.

Buros Institute Test Reviews Online
Finding Information About Psychological Tests
(American Psychological Association, APA)
Joint Committee on Testing Practices
(American Psychological Association, APA)

Finding Published Tests in Books

Because some tests and measures are published in books, you can search Start My Research for them. Filter your results to books and use test or measure as one of your keywords.

Start My Research
This is the library's main search tool. Search numerous resources available through Auraria Library including journals, articles, media, books, and more. Limit by material type, publication date, author, and more.

Best Sources for Full Text Tests

Below you will find several books that contain tests and measures. Some of these titles offer full text of texts and measures. While most of the books in this list are in print, you will find a few ebooks in the list.