Psychology

Instruments can be very difficult to get!

Most instruments (surveys, scales, questionnaires, etc.) are not published openly. You may find sample questions in the text of articles about the studies, but not the full instrument. Plan for the need to request your desired instrument from the authors or publishers. Some instruments cost money to use. Even if you find the questions somewhere, be sure you have permission to use the test in research. Permission comes with details about scoring, information about strengths and weaknesses, and other important information for using a given test. (It's also ethically required to ask.)

Note: contacting authors is not as easy as it seems. One study found that the likelihood of finding a useable email address falls by 7% per year after publication. If the email address given in the article does not work, try doing a web search. Also try contacting other authors even if one author is specifically given as the 'corresponding' author.

PsycTests is the only database that contains the actual tests (along with permissions and instructions for use.)

• Full text of questions
• Instructions for scoring
• Permission for educational and research use
• PDFs and/or multimedia files
• 40+ languages (not all tests are available in multiple languages)

PsycTests is mostly psychological tests (scales, questionnaires, surveys, etc.) but also covers educational, health, and sociological topics.

We have 2 databases specifically for identifying instruments and there are several similar websites. In all cases, these give you the references and information about the instruments, not the instruments themselves. Follow the citations (Find Article @ SCSU, Journal Title search, or SouthernSearch (for books)) for the articles that describe the instruments--even these articles may not have the instruments themselves.
If there is an Availability section, be sure to check for contact information.

Tips:
     [topic] refers to the general subject of your study. Don't get too specific--examples: depression, smoking, attention deficit disorder, workplace safety.

• to measure knowledge or opinions about a topic try "(knowledge or attitudes) and [topic]"
• to measure the success of a program try "(assessment or evaluation) and program and [topic]"

Ideally, you'll find your instrument by finding a research article in your regular searching. Try one or more of these tips to improve your searches:

• Use the 'Research' checkbox in CINAHL.
• Use the 'Methodologies' menu in Medline or PsycInfo to focus on the type of research you are interested in doing.
• Use keywords in your search like "questionnaire", "survey", "scale", or the name of an instrument you are interested in.
• Some databases have 'Questionaire' and 'Research Instrument' (CINAHL), or 'Instruments', 'Surveys', etc. in the 'Publication Type' or 'Document Type' menu. PsycInfo includes "experimental materials" in the Supplemental Materials menu--this will find more than just instruments.

Once you've found an interesting article:

• Quickly check the end of the article to see if they appended the instrument.
• Read the Methods (or Procedures) section carefully to determine if the authors made up their own instrument or used someone else's.
• If the authors made up their own instrument, but didn't publish it, do a search for additional articles that might have used the instrument (PsycInfo/Medline/CINAHL's 'Times Cited in this Database' and Google Scholar's 'Cited by' links and citation databases such as SemanticScholar.org, ConnectedPapers.com, ResearchRabbit.ai, or Inciteful.xyz are especially helpful here.)
• If the authors borrowed an instrument (and didn't publish their own version) use the references to find the original study/studies and see if any of those authors included the instrument.
• If the instrument is not published, contact the authors to ask for the instrument and permission to use it in your own study.
• Even if you do find the entire instrument published, contacting the author(s) is a good idea. There may be updates, specifications, or problems that were not published originally. It's also good research etiquette.
• Occasionally an author will "retire" an instrument and refuse permission. Inquire what instrument they recommend for similar research. It never hurts to ask!

The majority of instruments are not published (though it is becoming more common).

Assessment Scales in Old Age Psychiatry (contains 137 instruments)
REF RC 473 .P78 B876

Chemical Dependency Counseling: A Practical Guide (contains 24 instruments)
RC 564.P47 1997 

Handbook of Clinical Rating Scales and Assessment in Psychiatry and Mental Health
REF RC 473 .P78 H36 2010

Handbook of Family Measurement Techniques (contains 189 instruments)
REF HQ 728 .H267 2001 (vol. 3)

Handbook of Geriatric Assessment (contains 41 instruments)
RC 953 .G35 2000 

Handbook of Measurements for Marriage and Family Therapy (24 instruments)
RC 488.5.F73 1987 

Handbook of Psychiatric Measures (has a CD with over 150 instruments)
REF RC 473 .P78 A46 2008

Handbook of Sexuality Related Measures
HQ 60 .H36 1998

Integrated Treatment for Dual Disorders: A Guide to Effective Practice (contains 104 instruments)
RC 564.68 .I684 2003 

Measurement Tools in Patient Education (contains 85 instruments)
REF  R 727.4 .M4 2003 

Measures for Clinical Practice and Research
REF BF 176 .C66 2000

Rating Scales in Mental Health  (contains 71 instruments)
REF   RC 473.P78 S245 2003

Sourcebook of Adult Assessment Strategies (contains 75 instruments)
REF   RC 473.P78 S38 1995