Research Guides: Psychological & Educational Tests & Measures: Home

What are tests & measures?

"Psychometrics...is the methodology that deals with designs, administrations, and interpretations of measurement on individuals’ constructs such as abilities, attitudes, personality, knowledge..." Tests & measures are the instruments, surveys, questionnaires and more designed to assess these constructs.

Quote by Hua-Hua Chang in theInternational Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr.. 2^nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. p587-590.

Terminology: Unpublished vs. Commercial Tests & Measures

Tests are either commercial/published or noncommercial/unpublished.

Commercial/Published Tests are available directly from a commercial test publisher for a fee and typically are acccessible only to qualified/certified professionals. You will seldom, if ever, find the items from these instruments in the public domain. See the tab labeled Commercial/Published Tests for details on how to identify and locate commercial tests and measures.
Noncommercial/Unpublished Tests are not sold through a publisher and sometimes are available in journal articles, dissertations of other types of research-based literature. It can be more difficult to find these. See the tab labeled Noncommercial/Unpublished Tests for details on how to identify and locate unpublished tests and measures.

See the American Psychological Association's (APA) FAQ on how to find published and unpublished psychological tests.

Background Information

Sage Research Methods (SRM) Core This link opens in a new window
Over 1,000 research methods ebooks, articles, case studies, and videos from Sage and other sources provide guidance on the process for conducting qualitative and quantitative research (e.g. research design, interviewing, focus groups, regression analysis, models, advanced statistics).
Sage Campus This link opens in a new window
Supports the teaching and learning of research methods and skills through structured online learning that is self-paced and led by an expert. Topics include: cleaning data, conducting interviews, Python, research design, literature reviews, AI, getting published, etc. NOTE: UNM Guide for Sage Campus

Encyclopedia of Psychological Assessment (2003) by Fernandez-Ballesteros (Editor)
Consider using this EBOOK for background information about tests on different topics. It does not provide the tests themselves but offers articles and descriptions of many well-known tests.

Reliability & Validity

How do you know whether you've found a “good” or “bad” instrument? Is the instrument well-designed?

Researchers often discuss the "reliability" and “validity” of instruments, rather than whether they are “good” or “bad.” According to this text and other resources from Sage Research Methods Core, reliability is about the consistency of test results. Validity is about whether test results represent what they are supposed to represent.

At this point, the library doesn’t have staff with expertise to recommend or evaluate instruments. So, please contact your professor.

(from Penn State University Libraries Educational & Psychological Instruments Libguide, 2024)