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Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology

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Tests & Measures

This guide is designed to help students get started with research related to Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.

Finding Tests and Measures

The utilization of tests, measures, scales, instruments, questionnaires etc. is a very important feature of much educational psychological research. However, locating the appropriate testing tool and then gaining permission to use it in one's own research is not always an easy process.The following questions are common:

  • How do I find information about a particular test?
  • How do I locate relevant reviews of the test?
  • What are good databases for finding tests and other psychological instruments?
  • Are there books, print or online, that are especially good for locating tests?
  • Is browsing the web a good method to locate tests? Or are there pitfalls associated with this?
  • What's an efficient way to search dissertations and theses for tests and instruments?
  • How do I locate the actual test?
  • Now that I've located a relevant test can I use it? Is it free? Do I have to worry about copyright? Can I purchase the test from the creator or owner? Must I contact the publisher of the test?
  • How can I find advice about constructing my own test?
  • Now that I've located the test, how can I evaluate its reliability and validity?

There are numerous other questions that might be asked about diverse aspects of testing in educational psychology.  A particularly good guide that provides answers to the above and many other questions: Social Work: Finding Tests and Measures.

To get started you might find the following database especially useful:  PsycTESTs, a database that includes the full-text of numerous psychological tests that have been published in scholarly articles and books.