Academic Guides: Tests and Measures: Tests and Measures

Test databases

Search for tests that will capture the data you're interested in. Full text of the tests may not be immediately available through the databases. Discovering the best test for your needs is your first step. Once you have chosen a test, you can learn where to find the full text.

PsycTests
A database of mostly unpublished (noncommercial) psychological tests and measures. Each record includes information on reliability, validity, scope, and availability. Most records contain the full text of the instrument.
Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI)
A valuable database for discovering both published (commercial) and unpublished (noncommercial) instruments on a topic and learning how they have been used in academic research. Full text instruments are not available in this database.
Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print
This databases contains reviews of commercially available, English language testing instruments and includes information on the test's reliability and validity, publisher details, and a score index to easily identify what is being measured. The full text of the tests are not available in this database. How to Use the Mental Measurements Yearbook.
Tests & Measures Combined Search
Search all three Walden Library test databases simultaneously: Mental Measurements Yearbook in Print, PsycTests, and Health and Psychosocial Instruments. Search results contain information for published (commercial) and unpublished (noncommercial) instruments.

Types of tests

Tests and measures are tools that can be used for diagnosing, researching, and assessing phenomena in the social sciences, education, and health, and other areas.

Instruments are either published or unpublished.

Published

When we talk about tests being published that means that they are owned by, and available through, commercial publishers. These tests need to be purchased from the publisher. Published tests are also referred to as commercial.

Unpublished

When we say that a test is unpublished this doesn't mean that it is unavailable in print; it means that it is not a test that you will find through commercial publishers. Unpublished tests often appear in journal articles, books, and dissertations. Unpublished tests are also referred to as non-commercial.