Published tests can be purchased from commercial vendors for a fee. Purchasing a test gains copyright permissions to use the test and testing materials, as well as a manual for administering the test. For unpublished tests, you will need to contact the author or copyright holder directly in order to request permission. Note that while some unpublished tests may appear in research article appendices, copyright permission still must be sought and granted before being used. In some cases, authors may either not respond to requests or refuse to grant permission to use their work. Therefore, it is important to select a few potential tests or measurements.
The simplest way to discover instruments relevant to your dissertation research is to carefully read the "Methods" section in peer-reviewed journal articles. A dissertation will build on a field of study and you will be well served by understanding how the constructs you are interested in have been measured. For example, while exploring the topic of cognitive functioning, read articles and take note of which cognitive inventories are used and why.
When conducting a search, remember that different keywords yield different results. Consider these terms and add them to your search string when trying to locate tests or measurements:
In order to find assessment information on your chosen scale search for your measure with these terms:
Provides instruments on alcohol and other drug use from all relevant disciplines. Some instruments are in the public domain and can be freely downloaded from the web.
Represents providers of tests and assessment tools and/or services related to assessment, selection, screening, certification, licensing, educational or clinical uses. Includes links to test publishers.
Provides a list of existing measures relevant to integrated behavioral health care.
Provides test reviews in the areas of Counselling, Education, General Health, Life and Well-being, Occupational and Work, Psychology and more.
Collection of abstracts and descriptions of almost 200 tests commonly used with Limited English Proficient students.
Directory of instruments including Abuse Assessment Screen, Depression (Thai Version), Emotional Social Support, and Quality of Life, HIV.
Provides scales relating to rehabilitation, disability, cognitive functioning, life satisfaction, and more.
Search for instruments by keyword or author, or browse by topic.
Database that provides information on instruments that measure attributes associated with youth development programs.
Links will re-direct you to the publishers' sites for price and ordering information. Test topics include ability, achievement, neuropsychology, personality, psychopathology, and more.
Open Directory Project listing of tests and testing links.
Online gateway to ERIC's resources on assessment and evaluation.
Provides information about research datasets and instruments/indices that are used in Health Services Research, Behavioral and Social Sciences, and Public Health.
Site will help you identify and learn more about screening, diagnostic, research, evaluation, and needs assessment instruments designed to measure substance use and related topics. Requires membership fee.
Provides access to measures of individual differences, all in the public domain.
Provides links to a range of scales, resources, research and other related information.
Information about research datasets and instruments/indices employed in Health Services Research, Behavioral and Social Sciences and Public Health with links to PubMed.
Provides information on specific evidence-based health care quality measures and measure sets.
Collection of sound education plans, reports, and instruments from past and current project evaluations in several content areas.
Offers free, but limited public access to their database. For each instrument in the database, you will find 14 categories of basic information (e.g., author, objective, mode of administration, original language, existing translations, pathology, number of items, etc.). Requires registration.
Commercial site that offers assessments for clinical and psychological use. Tests are clearly explained for functionality and implementation. Tests can be purchased from this site.
Information about the positive psychology questionnaires, some of which can be downloaded from the site.
List of copyrighted tests that students have permission to use (and so don't have to go through the permission inquiry process), from York University.
List of psychosocial measures with background information, full text of the measure, and scoring instructions.
Surveys include topics such as Aging and Health, Mental Health, & Quality of Life. All of the surveys from RAND Health are public documents, available without charge.
Psychological tests, scales, questionnaires, and checklists can be searched by several parameters, including author, title, year of publication, and topic, as well as by scale and item characteristics.
Includes scales for research subjects with chronic diseases in English and Spanish. You may use any of these scales at no cost without permission.
San Diego State University librarians have developed a searchable database of tests, instruments, rating scales, and measures available in books.
Another tool from San Diego State University allows you to search for complete psychosocial tests, instruments, rating scales, and measures found in the journal literature.
From the University of Miami Department of Psychology, a listing of scales made available for use in research and teaching applications. All are available without charge and without any need for permission.
Directory of public domain tests.
Each survey instrument's page includes a description, references, and a link to purchase the instrument directly from the author. Individual authorization from the author is required in order to administer any of the surveys.
Instruments used for screening and assessment of substance use and substance use disorders. Some instruments are in the public domain and can be freely downloaded from the web; others can only be obtained from the copyright holder.
Buros Center for Testing site provides reviews for over 4,000 commercially available tests. Over 2,000 of the tests have been reviewed in Mental Measurements. Reviews require purchase.
An index to 139 print compilations, web sites and other resources for test instruments with nearly 14,000 tests and measurements compiled from 1967 - 2014.
Indexes instruments, questionnaires, surveys, or tests that are contained in various books held in libraries. Click "full record" for the test, you will find annotated details about the instrument.