Library Guides: Tests and Measures: Getting a Copy

Getting a Copy, Published and Unpublished Tests and Measures
Published means the instrument is commercially available from a test publisher. Unpublished tests may be available in books or journals. There are ethical considerations for using either type of test.

American Psychological Association, FAQ Finding information about psychological tests
Information on the proper use of tests, published and unpublished.

Where to look

Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print This link opens in a new window
Tests in Print, Bibliography to all known commercially available tests that are currently in print in the English language. Includes publisher contact and price.

Can you find it online?
There's a database of tests and some databases can lead you to tests published in articles.

PsycTESTS This link opens in a new window
Contains psychological assessments, primarily unpublished tests (measures, scales, surveys) developed by researchers but not made available commercially. Most records include the testing instrument and link to the peer-reviewed literature describing test development, review, or use.

Tips for searching these databases for articles that include tests and measures:

CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window
Publication type: Questionnaire/Scale if instrument is included in the article.
ERIC (EBSCO interface) This link opens in a new window
Education. Select Tests/Questionnaires as the Publication Type.
Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HAPI) This link opens in a new window
Use the "Source Code" pulldown box and limit to "Primary Source" to find actual instruments.
To see if we have it, open up a new window or tab and search in Find It with the title of the source.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
Two ways to search:
- There is an alphabetical Index, Tests & Measures.
- To find articles that include instruments add the word "appended" to your search.
PubMed-Medline (with USC links) This link opens in a new window
Use the “Advanced” search option and add appropriate MeSH terms such as: “Psychological tests”, “Psychometrics”, “Psychiatric status rating scales” or “Questionnaires”.

Could it be in a book?
Try searching Find It @ USC Libraries with the test title. We've entered contents notes for some books that include instruments.

For example:
"black male experiences measure" "instrumental activities of daily living scale" "willingness to tolerate nonconformists"

All the contents notes begin with the phrase "Tests/Measurements covered in this book" so that's another way to search for these books.

Unpublished tests, prior to 1985

Directory of Unpublished Experimental Mental Measures Thomas Cooper Library, Reference Collection (Main Level) BF431 .D455

Title Index for the Directory of Unpublished Experimental Mental Measures Thomas Cooper Library, Reference Collection (Main Level) BF431 .D456