Finding Tests to Use in Your Research

The library offers a number of ways to look for psychological assessments.

Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print (EbscoHost)

MMY with Tests in Print is great for identifying the test you want to use and finding other information you will need about the test.  

Mental Measurements Yearbook™ (MMY) provides users with a comprehensive guide to over 2,700 contemporary testing instruments. This resource also includes the complete Tests in Print database which serves as a comprehensive bibliography to all known commercially available tests that are currently in print in the English language. TIP provides vital information to users including test purpose, test publisher, in-print status, price, test acronym, intended test population, administration times, publication date(s), and test author(s). A score index permits users to identify what is being measured by each test. - From the site

For test information and sometimes the instrument, the following resources will be useful.

PsycInfo (ProQuest)

PsycInfo is the leading comprehensive database of psychology literature. Look for the original study to find test information, the instrument, and how to score it. Not all original studies will provide all of the information you will need but it will be a great start.

Books in the Library Collection

Although we encourage you to use the MMY first, we also have a number of books in the Library Reference Collection to help you evaluate tests. The library does not actively collect test manuals, but there are are a few manuals in the collection.

Web

Some test authors promote and encourage use of their tests by putting them on the web. Some make it available for free, some charge a fee. Some test authors make their test available through a test publisher. If there is a publisher, the instrument won't be openly available on the web. You will need to contact the publisher and make arrangements to purchase the instrument and test materials.

We get the following questions from students:

Can I get this test for free?
It depends on the test. If the instrument is found on the Web or from an article/book, you may not be required to pay a fee. If there is a publisher, you will most likely have to pay a discounted student fee and will have to submit proof that your are using this test under supervision of your chair.

Can I get the manual for free?
For tests that require a manual, most manuals are not available in libraries. You may need to purchase your own copy of the manual. We are happy to try to find the manual at another library and try to borrow it.

Do I need to get permission for a test freely available on the Web or otherwise obtained for free?
It is a courtesy gesture to contact the test authors and let them know that you are interested in using their test for your research.

Research, not re-search with Zotero

There is a new software tool available to gather, organize, and cite your references.

Zotero is an extension that works only with the Firefox Web browser.
You can download Firefox for free: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
Extremely user-friendly, Zotero goes beyond storing the author, title, and publication fields, and
exporting them into a bibliography. It has the ability to:

• Detect when you are viewing a book, article, or other object on the Web. Find and automatically save the full reference information in the correct fields.
• Annotate and/or archive entire Web pages.
• Save records and notes in a variety of languages.
• Tag and store information for easy retrieval.
• Easily export that information into MS Word or EndNote.
• Communicate with the software already installed on your computer (such as Microsoft Word).
• Be used offline.

Zotero has a myriad of additional features well worth investigating.

Best of all, it is completely free and available for download from http://www.zotero.org/.

PsycInfo - Searching by Methodology

Searching for empirical studies, literature reviews, or meta-analyses in PsycInfo is easier than you think.
In CSA, select PsycInfo and click on Continue to Search. Click on the Search Tools tab at the top, then click on the Indexes Tab. Use the Indexes pull-down menu to select the Methodology Index. Click on Go.
A list of the various types of article methods will be listed below.

Checkmark the types of studies you are interested in and click on Search at the left. This will generate a search by methodology. Click on the Quick Search or Advanced Search tab and generate a search on your topic. To combine your topic search with the methodology search, click on Search Tools tab and click on Combine Searches. At the bottom of the screen you will see your searches with their assigned search number. Combine your searches in the search box using their search numbers including # (for example #1 and #2) and click on the green search button.