Tests & Measures: Find the Whole Test

How you obtain tests will depend on whether the test is published or unpublished.

Published tests must be purchased from the publisher.  You can find the publisher information by searching for the test name in Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print.

Once you do a search, click on the name of the test in the search results. You will then see a page with information about the test, including a section for Publisher Information.

You can also find publisher information on the Internet. In your favorite search engine, enter the test name in quotes, for example, "national survey of student engagement." You can also enter publisher information to search for publisher's websites.

Unpublished tests can be trickier and more difficult to locate.  Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI) is a good place to start. You can often find tests in the original articles where they were published.

Sometimes the test will appear at the end of the article in an appendix and sometimes the test questions will be interlaced throughout the text of the article.

If the test is not in the original publication, you will need to contact the author(s) to request the test.

NOTE: Whether the test is available in the article or not, you will need to get the author's permission to use the test in your own published work, such as your dissertation! Find more information on obtaining test permissions at Get Permission.

If you are using HaPI, there are several places you can look for information about the original article in which the test was published. You will want to click on the title of the test to get to the abstract page with more information about the test.

• If the Source Notes indicate the record is a Primary Source you will find the original publication information in the Source section listed below Source Notes.

• If the Source Notes indicate you are viewing a Secondary Source  you will need to look to the bottom of the record to find the References. The text listed after References will be the original publication related to the assessment and will be the text that you will want to try to locate. 

Learn how to find research instruments in the Walden Library. Includes identifying a test, obtaining the full test, locating reliability and validity information, and requesting permission to use and reproduce the test.