EDUC 623 Research Design and Methodology: Find Tests for Your Thesis/Research Project

Finding tests and measurements can be a challenging process. You may or may not need to do all of the steps below. Always keep in mind the search tips at the left of the screen!

Do you have a general topic (like, personality) but don’t know the name of a specific test?

Your first step is to conduct a thorough literature review. Books and articles which explain how to test the specific persons, phenomena, or variables that interest you will give you a sense of which tests are most typically used by other researchers. Here are some sources:

After learning about how testing is done for your population/topic, use the reference books below to determine which tests are most commonly used.

CAUTION: These do NOT provide copies of tests. Instead, they give you basic information such as the test name, purpose, population, scoring system, validity, price, and publisher.

If you've tried the resources above and still want additional tests, try these: 

There are several options for obtaining journal articles:

1. Search Tests in Print or PsycTESTS to see if there are any published copies of the assessment.
2.  
   • Try Google Scholar.
   • Use iLLiad (Interlibrary Loan) to request journals articles that are not available online.  

There are several options for obtaining books:

1. Try to find a free preview of the book in Google Book Search. 
2. If that doesn't work:
   • Try WorldCat to see if any other library owns the book.
     • Click on "Request Item via ILL" to request books from other libraries.

Some tests, especially one that are created/used by government agencies or universities, can be found with Google or other search engines. 

CAUTION: Anyone can post something on a web site, so there are many "unofficial" (altered or incomplete) tests on the Internet. For professional and research purposes, you should use versions from the correct author or publisher. Here are some tips for finding them:

1. First, try the official name of the test. 
2. If that doesn't work, try Google Scholar to locate “scholarly” papers, articles, and web sites.
3. If that doesn't work, try to find the author's personal or institutional web site by Googling her/his name. 
4. If you can't find her/his web site, visit the web site of the company or university where (s)he works. You may be able to find the author's contact information in a “directory,” list of employees or faculty, or on the web page for her/his department.

If you identify a test in a library book or a journal article and want to get a copy of the test itself, you can sometimes find the test author's "institutional affiliation," e-mail address, or other contact information quite easily:

1. Within a large book, the author’s institution or e-mail address may appear within the text, in a "contributors" section, within an entry, or within section dealing with the specific test.
2. In other types of books, contact information sometimes appears on the back pages or book jacket.
3. In a journal article, contact information may be in a note on the first or last page.

If contact information isn't available or is outdated, locate the author with Google or another search engine. 

Another route is contacting the publisher. This can be challenging because many small publishers have been bought out by larger corporations. Here are some of the well-known test publishers and their web sites: