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Instruments, Tests & Measures: Getting Started

Use this guide to find published and unpublished tests and measures.

Published Tests...

...are standardized tests available for purchase.  Often, these tests must be purchased in quantity and the producer may not want the test available to the general public, or for copying. If you need more information about a published test try a search in Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print. 


Example: the Beck Depression Inventory's website and the MMY entry.

Unpublished Tests...

... are generally not for sale, but instead are often available full-text in an article, thesis, dissertation or book.

Example: Maryland Trait and State Depression Scale in APA PsycTESTS.

Getting Permission to Use a Test

To administer a test that you have found:

  • Contact the current copyright holder for permission to use the test.
     
  • Contact information for the author or publisher is usually included within the test's profile. 
     
  • If the address of the author or publisher is not included in the profile, try searching in Google or another search engine.
     
  • If you have found a test created by an author of a journal article, the article will include the contact information for the author.

Start Searching for Tests

Finding an instrument, test or measure draws on your strategies for finding peer-reviewed research articles, but is a different process. This guide offers search strategies, recommends resources, and answers some FAQs.

Just want to start searching? Try searching for a test either on your topic or by name in one of these resources: