Graduate Nursing Research

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.

1. Start by conducting a keyword search on your topic using scholarly databases or the library catalog. 
2. Use advanced search techniques like subject searching, truncation, and Boolean AND/OR operators to make your search more precise. 
3. Limit your results to scholarly/peer-reviewed articles. Enter keywords from your topic on the top one or two lines. Then, add a search string such as (survey OR instrument OR scale) on a separate line and limit this line to the AB Abstract of the article, as shown in the example below. You might also consider using these additional terms as part of your search: questionnaire, test, measurement, measure, assessment, inventory   
4. If you find yourself needing to search for measures in the databases consider using the helpful keywords listed below.

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: 

• Survey 
• Instrument 
• Scale
• Questionnaire 
• Test
• Measure 
• Measurement 
• Assessment 
• Inventory

In order to find assessment information on your chosen scale search for your measure with these terms:

• Review
• Reliability
• Validity

• Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute (ADAI) Screening and Assessment Instruments Database

  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.

• Association of Test Publishers

  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.

• Atlas of Integrated Behavioral Health Care Quality Measures

  Provides a list of existing measures relevant to integrated behavioral health care.

• British Psychological Society's Psychological Testing Center

  Provides test reviews in the areas of Counselling, Education, General Health, Life and Well-being, Occupational and Work, Psychology and more.

• Center for Equity and Excellence in Education Test Database

  Collection of abstracts and descriptions of almost 200 tests commonly used with Limited English Proficient students.

• Center for HIV Identification, Prevention and Treatment Services

  Directory of instruments including Abuse Assessment Screen, Depression (Thai Version), Emotional Social Support, and Quality of Life, HIV.

• Center for Outcome Measurement in Brain Injury

  Provides scales relating to rehabilitation, disability, cognitive functioning, life satisfaction, and more.

• Child Care and Early Education: Datasets, Instruments and Tools for Analysis

  Search for instruments by keyword or author, or browse by topic.

• Compendium of Assessment and Research Tools

  Database that provides information on instruments that measure attributes associated with youth development programs.

• Directory of Tests with Links to Publishers

  Links will re-direct you to the publishers' sites for price and ordering information. Test topics include ability, achievement, neuropsychology, personality, psychopathology, and more.

• DMOZ

  Open Directory Project listing of tests and testing links.

• Ericae.net

  Online gateway to ERIC's resources on assessment and evaluation.

• Health Services and Sciences Research Resources

  Provides information about research datasets and instruments/indices that are used in Health Services Research, Behavioral and Social Sciences, and Public Health.

• Instrument Wizard

  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.

• International Personality Item Pool

  Provides access to measures of individual differences, all in the public domain.

• Mental Health Instruments in Non-English Languages

  Provides links to a range of scales, resources, research and other related information.

• National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology

  Information about research datasets and instruments/indices employed in Health Services Research, Behavioral and Social Sciences and Public Health with links to PubMed.

• National Quality Measures Clearinghouse

  Provides information on specific evidence-based health care quality measures and measure sets.

• Online Evaluation Resource Directory

  Collection of sound education plans, reports, and instruments from past and current project evaluations in several content areas.

• Patient-Reported Outcome and Quality of Life Instruments Database (PROQOLID)

  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.

• Pearson Assessments

  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.

• Positive Psychology Questionnaires

  Information about the positive psychology questionnaires, some of which can be downloaded from the site.

• Psychological Tests for Student Use

  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.

• Psychosocial Measures for Review (PhenX)

  List of psychosocial measures with background information, full text of the measure, and scoring instructions.

• RAND Health - Surveys & Tools

  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.

• Registry of Scales and Measures

  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.

• Research Instruments Developed, Adapted or Used by the Stanford Patient Education Research Center

  Includes scales for research subjects with chronic diseases in English and Spanish. You may use any of these scales at no cost without permission.

• SDSU Test Finder

  San Diego State University librarians have developed a searchable database of tests, instruments, rating scales, and measures available in books.

• SDSU Test Finder for Journal Articles

  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.

• Self-Report Measures

  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.

• Social-Personality Psychology Questionnaire Instrument Compendium (QIC)

  Directory of public domain tests.

• Statistics Solutions Directory of Survey Instruments

  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.

• Substance Use Screening & Assessment Instruments Database

  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.

• Test Reviews Online

  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.

• Tests and Measures in the Social Sciences

  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.

• USF Test & Measures Collection

  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.