Research Guides: Psychological, Health, and Educational Tests: Databases for Finding Info about Tests

Finding Tests

This section provides a list of databases that index tests in some way. These databases can provide information about tests, including:

Where a test appears or was used in a journal article or research study;
Review information for a given test, including reliability and validity of the test;
Where to purchase a published test.

Databases Devoted to Tests & Measures

PsycNET (with PsycINFO)

PsycNET (with PsycINFO) This link opens in a new window
PsycTESTS is a database within PsycNET that provides descriptive summaries, full text, and relevant citations on the development and assessment of tests and measures that can be used in research and teaching. The database serves as a repository for the full text of psychological tests and measures, as well as a source of structured information about tests of relevance to psychologists and professionals in related fields such as psychiatry, management, business, education, social science, neuroscience, law, medicine, and social work.
To search only a specific database (e.g., PsycINFO) within the PsycNET interface, use the "Select Databases" features at the top of the PsycNET landing page and check (or uncheck) the database(s) that apply.

Steps and Tips for Searching PsycNET

Enter PsycNET. On the landing page, expand "Select Databases" (just above the "Advanced Search" heading) to reveal database options. De-select all except PsycTESTS to search the tests subset.
Need a demo? Link to PsycTESTS tutorials (YouTube). Or, check out APA's PscyTESTS Help handout or their Field Guide.

Health & Psychosocial Instruments (HAPI)

Health & Psychosocial Instruments (HAPI) This link opens in a new window
Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI) provides ready access to information on measurement instruments (i.e., questionnaires, interview schedules, checklists, index measures, coding schemes/ manuals, rating scales, projective techniques, vignettes/scenarios, tests) in the health fields, psychosocial sciences, organizational behavior, and library and information science. Date of coverage are 1985 - present. Records are indexed according to the MeSH subject headings and the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms (1st Floor Reference Z695.1.P7 T48 2007 Non-circulating).
5 concurrent users; please log off after each session.

Steps and Tips for Searching Health & Psychosocial Instruments (HAPI)

To find only those articles that contain the actual instrument, limit by checking the "Primary Source" box.
To search by author name, enter the author's last name and first initial in the search box, and then click the author icon above; you will be taken to a list of author names, where you can select all that are appropriate to your search.
In some cases, you can order more information or the instrument itself by contacting the Behavioral Measurement Database Services; materials available through this method will contain a note within the abstract.

Mental Measurements Yearbook

Mental Measurements Yearbook This link opens in a new window
Mental Measurements Yearbook provides original reviews of, and citations to, articles about published educational, psychological, and vocational tests. Although called a "yearbook," new editions usually are published every two or three years. The online version begins in 1989 and is updated more frequently than the print editions (see Print Resources tab for info about the print edition).

Steps and Tips for Searching Mental Measurements Yearbook

Be sure to vary your terms when searching, as many tests are known by multiple names, or their acronyms, and MMY isn't able to cross check for variations.
To make your search more exact, try the advanced search option and search for the test title only within the citation field.
If you do not find the test you are looking for, you might want to rerun your search via the Buros website. If you find the test via this route, look at the bottom of the record for the test and it will tell you which printed volume of MMY the review appeared in; you can then find it in our printed copies of MMY.

Additional Databases

Tests and Measures in the Social Sciences: Tests available in compilation volumes
Tests and Measures in the Social Sciences is simply a list of some of the tests that can be found quickly in compilation volumes available in many libraries. 127 collections have been indexed to provide access to citations for approximately 12,000 measures. This site was designed as a service to locate tests, measures, instruments, etc. when there is a known title and a copy of the test is desired.
SDSU Test Finder
A "deep index" of books that contain instruments, some with numerous examples, and some with only 1-2. This resource is a nice compliment to the above "Tests in Compilation Volumes" list.
Health Services and Sciences Research Resources at National Library of Medicine
Health Services and Sciences Research Resources (HSRR) provides information about research datasets and instruments/indices employed in Health Services Research, Behavioral and Social Sciences, and Public Health with links to PubMed. Rather than being an archive of datasets and instruments themselves, the HSRR is a searchable online database of records, i.e., categorical descriptions of datasets and instruments.
The National Quality Measures Clearinghouse™ (NQMC)
Sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NQMC is a searchable public repository and website for information on specific evidence-based health care quality measures and measure sets. NQMC is sponsored by AHRQ to promote widespread access to quality measures by the health care community and other interested individuals.
U.S. Dept of HHS Measures Inventory
The HHS Measures Inventory is only accessible through the National Quality Measures Clearinghouse™ (NQMC) website and is a separate repository of measures from NQMC. The Inventory includes active measures in use, archived measures that were once active but are no longer, and measures not in use but are being considered for use by agencies in HHS (i.e., pipeline measures).

Literature Databases with Info about Tests & Measures

Education Source with ERIC

Education Source with ERIC This link opens in a new window
Education Source with ERIC provides access to research on all levels of education from early childhood to adult education. The content includes peer reviewed journal articles, ebooks, book reviews, dissertations, conference papers and policy reports on all topics in the realm of education.

Steps and Tips for Searching Education Source with ERIC

From the main search page, type in your search terms.
Toward the bottom of the screen in the "Special limiters for ERIC" section, there is a menu labeled "PUBLICATION TYPE".
Scroll down and select "Tests/Questionnaires"
Click START to run a search; the results will be limited only to those which make some use of identifiable tests and/or questionnaires.

PsycNET (with PsycINFO)

PsycNET (with PsycINFO) This link opens in a new window
PsycINFO, a subset of PsycNET, is an index of publications that the APA examines regularly to identify psychologically relevant material, including journal articles, dissertations, reports, English-language book chapters and books, and other scholarly documents. The TM field ["tests and measures" field] contains the names of published tests and measures mentioned in the source document. This field may contain multiple tests or measures.
To search only a specific database (e.g., PsycINFO) within the PsycNET interface, use the "Select Databases" features at the top of the PsycNET landing page and check (or uncheck) the database(s) that apply.

Steps and Tips for Searching PsycNET (with PsycINFO)

From the main PsycINFO search page, enter a word or phrase in the text entry box above the drop-down menu (e.g. "bereavement").
Then select "Tests & Measures" in the drop-down menu under the search box (the default setting is "Any Field"; change this to "Tests & Measures").
Click on "Search."
The resulting set of documents will all contain the word or phrase searched in the Tests and Measures field of each record.

PsycINFO via Ovid

PsycINFO via Ovid This link opens in a new window
An index of publications that the APA examines regularly to identify psychologically relevant material, including journal articles, dissertations, reports, English-language book chapters and books, and other scholarly documents. The TM field ["tests and measures" field] contains the names of published tests and measures mentioned in the source document. This field may contain multiple tests or measures.

Steps and Tips for Searching PsycINFO via Ovid

From the main PsycINFO search page, select the "Search Fields" link above the search box.
Enter a word or phrase in the text entry box (e.g. "bereavement"); scroll down and make a check mark next to the field "tm: Tests & Measures."
Click on "Search>>."
The resulting set of documents will all contain the word or phrase searched in the Tests and Measures field of each record.

CINAHL Complete

CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window
An index of the literature of nursing and the allied health professions. Sometimes, a search of CINAHL turns up an article in which the test or survey instrument is not only mentioned, but re-printed. If the instrument itself is indexed in CINAHL Plus it will have the Publication Type "research instrument" (e.g., Brief Pain Inventory). Similarly, one can perform a search and Limit to the Publication Type "research instrument." The Instrumentation (IT) field in a record includes the names of instruments used in research studies indexed by CINAHL. To search for articles with instrument names, enter the most unique word or phrase in the name. For example, search: pain in the Instrumentation field.

Steps and Tips for Searching CINAHL Complete

From the CINAHL Plus main search page, type a word or phrase into the text box, then use the dropdown menu to specify the "IN Instrumentation" field.
Click on "Search."
The resulting set of documents will all contain the word or phrase searched in the Instrumentation field of each record.

Medline via PubMed

Medline via PubMed This link opens in a new window
MESH headings for the concept of tests and measurement include: questionnaires, psychological tests, psychometrics outcome, and process assessment (health care). Locating an instrument or test in PubMed may also be done using important words from the title of a particular instrument.

ERIC

ERIC This link opens in a new window
Educational Resources Information Clearinghouse (ERIC) is a complete bibliography of educational materials available since 1966. Indexes published and unpublished sources on thousands of educational topics, with information from from Resources in Education (RE) and Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE), and including materials focused on every aspect of educational testing.
This resource is also freely available at Eric.ed.gov

Steps and Tips for Searching ERIC

From the main search page, type in your search term(s)
Notice the "DOCUMENT TYPE" limit toward the middle of the page.
To select "Tests/Questionnaires", either click on the link to browse publication types and locate, or type in PT=(160 tests/questionnaires).
When you return to the search screen and run a search, the results will be limited only to those which make some use of identifiable tests and/or questionnaires.

Dissertations & Theses Global

Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window
Indexes doctoral dissertations and some masters theses and makes full text available for many of them. You can find information about specific tests and measure and possibly the instrument itself in this database.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a time-saving, scholarly search interface accessible from within the Google interface. Google Scholar is often a good tool to use to search for a known item, such as a test or measure. To customize your interface for NYU resources, use the directions on our Google guide to set your Google Scholar preferences.

Once you have customized the Google Scholar interface for NYU Libraries, you can use the "GetIt@NYU" link to access options for full text of articles, which may link you to more information about a health, education, or psychological test or measure.