Social Welfare
- Social Welfare
- Office Hours: 9-5 and by appointment
- Office Location: Haviland Hall
- Contact Info:
(510) 642-4432
Tests, Scales and Measurements
Finding complete instruments (tests or scales) can be challenging. Test publishers do not allow libraries to buy buy copyrighted tests and circulate them like we do books. In general, they want to sell them to researchers on an individual basis. Sometimes the full text of a test can be found in a journal or in the appendix of a dissertation. And, of course, some instruments or tests are in the public domain and are easy to locate in books or on the internet.
The library reference collection contains several print and a few digital book compilations of full-text tests available in the public domain. See Test Bibliographies for more information.
For educational tests, see EDP Tests.
Tests can be identified, and sometimes found in full text, by using databases, such as Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Social Work Abstracts, and PsycInfo. Online indexes, like Buros Mental Measurements, aid in identifying test instruments. Several social service organizations provide free online search engines that link to full-text scales. A few universities have built their own free, searchable indexes to identify tests they consider important to the work of their scholars. Many other organizations provide information about tests that their members may find useful. This guide's Social Welfare & Related Tests link connects to various resources.
Learn strategies for searching and finding tests through the disciplinary databases by clicking the Search Tips tab above. Search engines provided by various vendors differ. For example, the CSA Illumina search engine provides an easy way to identify tests referenced or used in studies, while EbscoHost requires another protocol to produce less targeted results.
PsycTESTS from APA -- primarily unpublished tests, most (but not all) records include the actual test instrument. Also provides information about psychological tests, measures, scales, surveys, and other assessments including descriptive information about the test and its development and administration
eBooks and books with full-text scales:
Online searchable sites with full-text scales:
Online searchable indexes to identify scales:
Sites with test information:
CSA Illumina is one of the best search engines for searching tests and measurements. When a database such as PsycInfo indexes materials according to test instruments used or cited, CSA can search directly for a test. Unfortunately, neither Sociological Abstracts nor Social Services Abstracts index for tests. All three databases, i.e., PsycInfo, Sociological Abstracts, and Social Services Abstracts can be searched with the CSA search engine by selecting the Multi EdPsyc link on both the Social Welfare and the Education Psychology Libraries webpages.
For example, to search for studies on depression that use or cite a test instrument, the following protocols produce targeted results.
To search the PsycInfo database, use the Multi EdPsyc link.
In the first search box row, type "depression." Select either the "TI Title" or "DE Descriptor" choice from the drop down menu.
In the second search box row, type "test*" in the first box, "scale*" in the second box, and "questionnaire*" or "instrument*" in the third box. The asterisk is to retrieve all forms of each word. Select the "TM Tests and Measures" choice from the drop down menu.
To search Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, and ERIC for articles and books that cite or use test instruments, perform these steps:
First select these databases on the search engine screen. Click on the word "show" on the line that says: Now Selected: Multiple Databases (show). De-select all databases, except Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, and ERIC.
In the first search box row, type "depression." Select the "TI Title" choice from the drop down menu.
In the second search box row, type "test*" in the first box, "scale*" in the second box, and "questionnaire*" or "instrument*" in the third box. Select the "AB Abstracts" choice from the drop down menu.
The search results will display records that concern the subject of depression and reference a specific test instrument. The test may be used as the basis of the article or book or it may just be cited.
EbscoHost does not provide a tool for specifically searching for tests and measurements. Instead, one must enter words such as "test", "scale",
"instrument", "questionnaire" in a search box.
For example, to search for tests or scales that measure depression, use the following approach to obtain targeted results.
Open the Social Work Abstracts database.
In the first search box, type "depression." Select either the "TI Title" or "AB Abstract" choice from the drop down menu.
In the second search box, type "test*". The asterisk is to retrieve all forms of the word "test." Select the "TX All Text" choice from the drop down menu.
In the third search box, type a synonym of the word "test", such as "scale*". Other words that might produce good results would be "questionnaire" or "instrument." Select the "TX All Text" choice from the drop down menu.
The search results will display records that concern the subject of depression and reference a specific test instrument. The test may be used as the basis of the article or book or it may just be cited.
Sites with test information.
The following websites provide information about testing and assessment. These provide both background information and search tips.
The UC Berkeley Libraries and the UC Berkeley campus provide generous resources to support access to and manipulation of data and statistics. UC Library subscribes to several proprietary statistics databases with advanced search features. The U.S. government, the largest collector and provider of data worldwide, provides many tools for searching and finding data. State and local governments have similarly created many data websites. Large international organizations, such as UNESCO, the World Bank, and EuroStats have also gathered statistics and created online search tools. Extensive data sets can be found on the web through the sites of nonprofit organizations and universities. The search is challenging, however, because of multiple sites each with a different focus, search engine and protocol.
The following websites provide data and statistics specifically related to social welfare, psychology and the social sciences. Some provide data of a more general data, such as American FactFinder, and FedStats, and some point to topic specific data sets, such as AgeSource and ChildStats. Each is uniquely organized. Look for a "search tips" link on each site for the best practice in finding data with the website's search features.
Additional weblinks for free data concerning children and education can be found at EDP Statistics and regarding public health at PUBL Stats. For data sets by region, i.e., California, federal, etc. see below.
Social Welfare Data - Key Weblinks
Data for Psychology, Mental Health and Social Science - Key Weblinks
Top Statistical Databases
More Social Science Statistical Databases (A-Z)
Help with Manipulating Statistics and Data
Help with Manipulating Statistics and Data
