The Levy Library Blog

Levy Library Resource Spotlight: Test Databases

Carrie Levinson, MSLIS (She/her/hers)

Reference & Instruction Librarian, Mount Sinai West & Mount Sinai Morningside

Many researchers decide that they want to utilize a test, survey or questionnaire as part of their research project. Putting together a research instrument can be daunting, however: What questions should be asked? What scale should be used? How should reliability and validity be measured?

Since there are many such tools already out there, sometimes the answer might just be to reuse an existing instrument that another research team has developed. This presents another problem, however: how do we find these ready-made instruments?

Enter two databases we have at the Levy Library: PsycTESTS and Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HAPI). Both of these resources provide access to descriptions of tests, surveys, inventories, scales, measures, and questionnaires that fall under psychology, health, and related fields.

PsycTESTS

PsycTESTS allows users to not only find instruments, but also gives them a detailed description of them, including:

• The article the instrument was described in
• What kind of instrument it is (inventory, questionnaire, etc.)
• Format (e.g. Likert scale)
• Permissions and fee information
• Reliability, validity, and factor analysis
• Demographic/population
• Language(s) available

PsycTESTS sometimes provides the full text of the instruments themselves, which can include PDFs and multimedia files.

HAPI

HAPI provides information including:

• The source of the instrument
• Response options
• Sample items
• Number of questions
• Reliability and validity

Measures found in HAPI can be used for a variety of purposes, including studies, grant proposals, patient assessment, and program evaluation.

Why reinvent the wheel? The next time you need a survey or questionnaire, check out one or both of these resources to see if there’s one you can use! Need help navigating PsycTESTS or HAPI? Our librarians are always happy to help – just contact us at refdesk@mssm.edu or through our Ask-a-Librarian service.