Education

• How do I find a measurement (test, tool, questionnaire, etc.) for my research?

  • Things to keep in mind: Has the text been used before with your population? Has the measurement been tested for validity, readability, reliability, or ease of use? Will there be a cost associated with using the measurement?
  • ETS Test Link (linked in the Database section below) can be very helpful for finding education focused measurements. Its search relies on ERIC-based descriptors (ERIC is also linked in the database section below) to bring back measurement results. 
    • ERIC terms can focus on population ('Adolescents,' 'Ethnicity,' and 'Physical Characteristics' are broad example terms), measurement types (ex. 'norms,' 'educational testing,' 'personality assessment,' 'teacher competency testing'...), development, and more. You can find the ERIC descriptors thesaurus linked at the bottom of this section.
  • You can use the the 'Publication Type' option of the Advanced Search screen in ERIC to select 'Tests/Questionnaires' to find measurements.
  • In PsycINFO (linked in the Database section below), you can use the 'Tests & Measures' option to look for measurements. You can place the title of your measurement (or a selection of relevant keywords) in the search bar and then use the drop-down menu on the right to select 'TM Tests & Measures.'
    • You can also use the 'Tests' option under 'Supplemental Materials' to find measurements.

• Can I view the full text of a measurement or assessment I found mentioned in an article?

  • Once you've found a measurement you think will be helpful (say the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale, or CASSS), the article about the measurement or it's creation may not contain the scale: Malecki and Demary's "Measuring perceived social support: Development of the child and adolescent social support scale (CASSS)" talks about the creation and validation of the measurement but does not contain the full scale.
  • You can continue to search for the measurement using the author/s and name in other literature and the measurement will sometimes be included in the appendix of articles or dissertations that used the measurement. The CASSS scale appears as an appendix to Arlene Tayag Gordon's dissertation Assessing social support in children: development and initial validation of the social support questionnaire for children. Appendices always come at the end of the document.
  • Searching Dissertations and Theses (linked in the Database section below) for your measurement name can often be helpful. Many dissertations include the measurement in the appendix, as in the example above.

• Will I have to purchase access to a measurement?

  • Sometimes. Not all measurements will be freely available through things like appendices; you may need to contact the authors/publisher to purchase access to a measurement.
  • If you end up publishing this measurement in your dissertation or research, you will need to get permission from the author/s.

You can also find additional information from the American Psychological Association on their FAQ listing.

This FAQ has been adapted from content like the APA FAQ above and NC State Libraries' "Test and Measurement Resources":