How to find published tests
How you obtain tests will depend on whether the test is published or unpublished.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.
How to find unpublished tests
Unpublished tests can be trickier and more difficult to locate.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.
Quick links
- Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI)The Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI) database provides information about approximately 15,000 measurement instruments. The full text instruments are NOT included in HaPI. Instead this database is used to discover instruments on a topic, track the history of an instrument over time, and find publisher information.
- Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in PrintMental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print contains reviews of over 3,000 commercially available, English language testing instruments. Reviews contain information about the reliability, validity, and publication details of the testing instruments. A score index that allows users to easily identify what is being measured in individual tests and bibliographic information is also included. Testing instruments fall into many categories such as psychological tests, career inventories, intelligence and aptitude, and personality. There are no full text testing instruments in this database.
- APA PsycTestsAPA PsycTests contains access to unpublished (not commercially available) psychological tests, measures, scales, surveys, and other assessments. Each record contains reliability and validity, scope, implementation, and an overview when available. Most records also contain the full text of the instrument.