Psychological tests (or measures, instruments, or scales) are standardized measures of a particular psychological variable, such as personality or emotional functioning. Behavioral science research often involves using psychological tests, whether to learn about the test or to use it in your research study.
- Many tests are commercially published and subject to copyright and licensing restrictions—these typically require a fee to use and are not available through the library. Publishers may require proof that users have the professional credentials to administer the test. If you find a commercially published test you want to use, look for an FAQ page to see if a version is available to student researchers for free or at a reduced cost, or try contacting the publisher to ask.
- In addition to commercial tests, researchers design countless unpublished tests for particular studies in psychology, education, and other fields. These tests may be freely available online or in scholarly articles.
Many unpublished and commercially published psychological tests are described in scholarly articles, including how they were developed and validated and how they can be used in the field. If an article refers to a specific psychological test that you'd like to view or use in your research, try these strategies for finding it:
- Check the appendices at the end of the article to see if the author(s) included the whole instrument or a note about where it can be found or purchased. Portions of the test may also be included in the article's main text, tables, or figures.
- Search for the name of the test on Google as a quick way to see if it's available through a commercial publisher or freely available on a website.
- Email the article's lead author to ask questions about their test or if they have a version they will share with student researchers. Author contact information is typically included on the first page of scholarly articles. If it's an older article, the contact information may be out of date—try searching for the author on Google to see where they're currently working and look for a current email.
This excellent FAQ page from the American Psychological Association includes more information about psychological tests and how to find them.
