Finding Tests & Measurement Instruments

When trying to find a test or measure that meets the needs of your proposal try these options: 

• Consult an index of tests categorized by topic: The database PsycTESTS provides information about test and measures, indexes by subject and population, and may also including the full text of the test. More information below. 
• Find an article or research study that is similar to your study that uses or describes a test on your topic. Then, identify the title of the test and explore the "Finding Tests by Name" tab on this library guide.  
• Consult a reference work that describes tests categorized by topic: Consult Tests and Measures in the Social Sciences, a guide that provides tables of contents of books containing tests - then find the book at the library or through interlibrary loan. The SMC library also owns major reference books on tests and measures. More information below. 

PsycTESTS contains detailed information about psychological tests and measurement instruments. The tests in PsycTESTS are considered "unpublished" tests that originally appeared in journal articles and were never released commercially. Most of the entries in PsycTESTS include the full text of the tests, but not all. For entries that are not complete, the affiliation and address of the author is usually provided, so you may be able to get a copy of the test by contacting the author. 

Search in PsycTESTS by typing your topic terms into the search box as keywords. Then select search for the broadest possible search. For a more focused search, you can change the "any field" drop down to "Test Construct" and limit by "age group", "permission", "publisher" and more. 

Tests & Measures in the Social Sciences is an index full of all of the full-text tests included in more than 100 compendia containing tests. Topics include the social and health sciences. It was created by Helen Hough, a librarian and the University of Texas at Arlington, and was last updated in 2014. 

There are two main ways to use this guide: the first is browsing the list of books to see if there's a book that deals with your general topic and then looking at the table of contents in that book to see the tests included. Another way is to search all of the test in the books by your topic. Type your topic and the letters TMdb in the search box (TMdb is an abbreviation for tests and measures database and will limit your search to the Tests & Measures Guide)

You can also type the name of a test or measure into the search bar with the letters "TMdb" 

The search results will list the book or resource where you can find the test title you entered. In this example, the first result is the FAQs from the site, but the second result is a book that contains multiple tests and measurement instruments. 

Clicking on the second result will show you the title of one of the books where you can find the full instrument. 

Click on the link to be taken to Worldcat - where you can see if the SMC library owns the title, or if the book needs to be ordered through interlibrary loan.