For this Discussion, you were assigned an assessment tool. You then need to discuss the psychometric properties of the tool and explain its appropriate use. To support your claims, you'll need to find either the test itself or literature that explains and describes the assessment tool.

This guide will help you:

• search the Internet for your assigned assessment tool
• search for reviews of your tool
• search for articles which discuss the assessment tool

Not all assessments are available for free online. However, Google is a good place to start to see if you can find the actual assessment you've been assigned.

Try searching regular Google for the name of your assessment. Use quote marks around the assessment's name to make your search more exact.

Example: You've been assigned an assessment called Kessler 6. Type into Google:

"Kessler 6"

You will then need to think critically about the results you get. Usually, if the full assessment is available for free online, it will be in the first few results.

 

Even if you were able to locate the entire assessment online through a Google search, you still need to find information about the test to evaluate it. A Google search will not give us authoritative, credible resources for this part of the task.

Instead, we can use a tool called Mental Measurements Yearbook to find reviews of an assessment. These reviews will show you information about the assessment's intended population for use, validity, and reliability.

Not every assessment will have a review in Mental Measurements Yearbook, however.

To search Mental Measurements for a review on your assessment, follow these steps:

1.  Click the Start Your Research tab near the top of the Library homepage.

2.  In the Search by Type box, click on Tests & Measures.

3.  Click the Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print link.

4. Now you are on a search screen with three search boxes. Let's say you've been assigned the assessment tool called Kessler 6.

Type the name of your assessment into the top search box like this:

Kessler 6

Here is what the search box will look like:

5. Click the Search button.

If you see a result with the name of your assessment, click on the title to read the full review in Mental Measurements Yearbook.

Don't see your assessment in the results?

• Try searching for just part of the name if it is a longer title.
• Try searching for the acronym if one is used.
• See our Tests and Measures Guide for search strategies to try for find reliability and validity information in articles from different databases.

 

Even with the full assessment and a review or article about the validity or reliability of the assessment, you may still need more information about the use of your assessment or its development.

If you have not found the full assessment or a review of the tool in Mental Measurements Yearbook, you can find adequate information by searching the literature for information regarding your assessment tool.

Try searching for the name of your test in these databases to find articles that use the assessment tool and provide other information about its use:

• CINAHL & MEDLINE Simultaneous Search
• PsycINFO
• ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source