Test Instruments and Measures: Core Tools
Created by Health Science Librarians
Test Instrument Search Tools
Test instruments and measures are used by students, educators, researchers, and practitioners to assist in the assessment of people, conditions, or topics.
Online Collection of Tests
- PsycTESTSA research database that provides access to psychological tests, measures, scales, surveys, and other assessments as well as descriptive information about the test and its development and administration.
Test Reviews and How to Purchase
Find Articles About Test Development and Articles That Use Tests
- CINAHL Plus with Full TextCINAHL Plus with Full Text is a collection of more than 770 full text nursing & allied health journals dating as far back as 1937, with bibliographic indexing for more than 5,000 additional nursing and related journals. Also included are select health care books, nursing dissertations, conference proceedings, standards of practice, educational software, audiovisuals and book chapters.
Search Tip:
Enter the name of a test or key words about a test.
Select IN Instrumentation from the Select a Field drop down menu.
Search Tip:
Enter the name of a test or key words about a test.
Limit the search to Primary Source for articles about test development and validation. Some of these may contain sample questions or the full test.
Limit the search to Secondary Source for articles that used the test in a research study.
- PubMedDatabase of biomedical literature from the National Library of Medicine covering journal articles about medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, biology and public health from 1950 to the present; multiple mobile apps available, provides access to MEDLINE, etc. Includes links to full text of UNC-CH's electronic journal subscriptions.
Search Tip:
Validation studies[publication type] AND (scale* OR instrument* OR assessment* OR measure* OR questionnaire* OR survey*) AND word for your topic
Validation studies[publication type] AND "name of a particular test in quotation marks
Health Literacy-Related Measures
- Health Literacy Tool Shed (Boston University)The Health Literacy Tool Shed by Boston University is an online database of health literacy measures. These measures, including their psychometric properties, are based on a review of the peer-reviewed literature. You can find health literacy measurement tools to meet your needs.
- Assessing the Health Literacy of Patients (North Carolina Health Literacy)Some health literacy instruments are best suited for research. Others are preferred in a clinical setting, as they can be administered quickly. The resources and tools on this page can help you identify which assessment tools will meet your needs.
- Readability Calculators (North Carolina Health Literacy)Readability calculators take a sample of your writing and calculate the number of sentences, words, syllables, and characters. They are helpful when deciding if your writing is at the appropriate level for your intended audience. This page discusses a selection of commonly used readability calculators when assessing health literacy levels.
Finding Instruments in PsycInfo
- PsycINFOPsycINFO indexes journal articles, dissertations, books, book chapters and other documents related to behavioral science and mental health from the 1887 to the present. This database includes information about the psychological aspects of several fields, including: medicine, pharmacology, social work and anthropology.
In PsycInfo, you can also search by the instrument name or topic by using the Tests & Measures feature in the drop down menu.
Finding Instruments in CINAHL
- CINAHL Plus with Full TextCINAHL Plus with Full Text is a collection of more than 770 full text nursing & allied health journals dating as far back as 1937, with bibliographic indexing for more than 5,000 additional nursing and related journals. Also included are select health care books, nursing dissertations, conference proceedings, standards of practice, educational software, audiovisuals and book chapters.
In CINAHL, there are two ways you can search for instruments that have been used in studies.
If you know the name of the instrument, you can type the name in the search box and then select "Instrumentation" from the drop down menu before you search.
If you know the topic of the instrument but don't have a specific name, you can search for words related to your topic. In this case, the word has to appear in the name of the instrument.
Finding Copies of Instruments
Find Copies of Tests in Dissertation Abstracts and PsycInfo
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses GlobalIndexes US dissertations from 1861 with full text available from 1997; masters theses covered selectively including some full text. Citations for dissertations from 1980 include 350-word abstracts, while masters' theses from 1988 have 150-word abstracts. Selectively covers dissertations from Great Britain and other European universities for recent years.
In addition to this database, the full text of the majority of UNC theses and dissertations from 2006, and all beginning in 2008, are freely available electronically from the UNC Library: Dissertations | Theses
Search Tip:
Search for the test name in the abstract.
Look at the full-text of the results. Check the Methods section for information about how the test was used. Check the Appendix for a copy of the test.
- PsycInfoDatabase from the American Psychological Association covering the academic research and practice literature in psychology and related disciplines (medicine, education, social work, etc.) from over 60 countries in more than 29 languages. It provides indexes to journals, dissertations, book chapters, books, technical reports, and other documents from 1887 to the present.
PsycInfo Search Tip:
Select the TM Tests & Measures field.
Enter a keyword for your topic to identify studies that used a test with that word in its name.
Enter the exact words of a test name to find studies that used that test.
Enter Appended in a second search box with TM selected to find articles that put the test in an appendix.
Search Google
Enter the full name of the test you have identified. If you find the test in full-text, be sure to contact the author for permission unless the web page clearly states the test is freely available.
Resources to Learn More
Additional guides covering these topics are:
