Mount Holyoke College

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Reference texts for overviews, definitions, general background, citation help; this is just a sampling, many more are available in the Reference Room located in Williston.

BOOKS
Areas in the stacks you might browse, or major subject headings you could search under in the library catalog.

IDENTIFYING AND LOCATING MEASUREMENT TOOLS

Finding a measurement or survey tool can be a lengthy, frustrating, and sometimes expensive process.The following are resources to help you not only understand this process, but to assist you in finding tools for your research. Once you identify a citation to a survey or measurement tool that sounds appropriate, you usually have to write to the publisher (this may be a corporation, university, or even a person) to receive a copy of the tool and the copyright permission to reproduce it. Occasionally, you may find a survey tool in the appendix of a journal article. In such instances, you will still need to contact the author of the article for permission to use the tool in your own research.

PsycInfo and Education Research Complete databases may also be searched to try to find articles including measurement tools in an appendix. Try subject headings like "measurement," "measures," or "tests" to pair with your other search terms. Remember, just because an article cites a measurement tool doesn't necessarily mean that the tool itself will be included in the article, you will need to look at the article itself to determine if the tool is present.
ETS Test Collection. A database of records on over 20,000 tests and research instruments. UMass owns the collection "Tests in Microfiche" which is indexed in this database. This might be a fruitful option if you are don't have time to send away to a publisher. When you do a search, look at the field marked "Availability" to follow the source to track down the test itself.
Encyclopedia of Psychological Assessment. Covers a wide range of specific areas of study in psychology, from Achievement Motivation to Well-Being (including Life Satisfaction). Entries include a general conceptual and methodological overview, a section on relevant assessment devices, and a list of references. A good place to start as you are thinking about what kind of measurement tool you might want to use to conduct research. A source such as "Tests in Print" (named below) can be used to follow-up on tools described here. BF 176 E53 2003 Ref.
Finding Information About Psychological Tests. FAQs from the APA on the sometimes frustrating process of identifying and obtaining measurement or survey tools.
Internet Psychology Lab. Online experiments in the areas of Visual Perception, Cognition, and Audio Perception.

The following are the major resources developed for the purpose of identifying and evaluating appropriate measurement tools. These resources provide the contact information for the publisher and/or author of a measurement tool; they do not provide the tests themselves. Estimated price for buying a copy of the tool is usually posted as well.

Mental Measurements Yearbook-- In two steps, this resource provides contact information and reviews of instruments to help you identify an appropriate tool; please note that this resource does not have the instruments themselves. When you do a search, the results should have 'Publisher' information which will point you to getting your hands on the tool itself. There will also be a 'Reviewed In' section that tells you where to get reviews or more information on an instrument to see if it is a good fit. Most often, these reviews are located in the print version of the Mental Measurements Yearbook located in the Reference Room @ Z 5814 P8 B932 REF (they charge $15 dollars for the reviews online!)
Tests in Print. Z 5814 .E9 T47 REF
Directory of Unpublished Experimental Mental Measures. BF 431 D598 REF