Measurement Instruments for Research, Education, and Clinical Practice: Using, Adapting, and Translating Instruments

There are a wide variety of ways that instrument producers make their measurement tools available for use and/or adaptation.  Permissions and whether or not there are fees to use an instrument are discussed in records in PsycTESTS (there are also search limits for these features) and Mental Measurements and Tests in Print.

Terminology varies across databases and sites, for example, the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education uses four Access categories which are not mutually exclusive.  Their categories listed below may not be used in the same way as on other sites--for example, although only one is called Copyrighted, it is likely that all of the instruments with the exception of those provided by the federal government have rightsholders.  Open access instruments may have an associated license, such as a Creative Commons license.

1. Open access (available on their website)
2. Subscription (can be viewed in journal article) [NOTE: instrument is likely also copyrighted; permission approach may be clear in the article or you may have to contact the publisher]
3. Copyrighted (needs permission of author) 
4. License required 

If you need to seek permission or an exemption to use the instrument from the rights holder, contact the copyright holder directly, or use a rights clearinghouse. Whether you are contacting a rights holder directly or using a clearinghouse, you will need:

• Exact citation of the work to be used or copied
• Exact description of which rights you are requesting (how you plan to use the work)

If you are contacting the rights holder directly:

• Use a sample letter to guide your request (see sample from Pacific University)
• Get permission in writing (email is okay, but a physical signature is best)
• Give yourself plenty of time

The search approaches in the sections of the guide above include how to search the Measurement Instrument Databases and Literature Databases by language.  However, there will be times that no instrument is accessible in the languages read or understood by the population you wish to have participate. 

Here at Mount Sinai, talk with Language & Communication Access Services for help finding qualified translation or interpretation assistance.  

Note that written translation generally creates a derivative work, and the right to prepare derivative works is one of the rights of the owner of the copyright in a work. See Circular 14 on Copyright in Derivative Works and Compilations. 

The Mount Sinai Program for the Protection of Human Subjects offers information on translated consents and consent form languages on their website in the Obtaining Consent section. 

Considering developing your own instrument? The Library has helpful background reading such as David L Streiner's Health measurement scales : a practical guide to their development and use. Fifth edition., 2015  

To securely deploy an instrument online at Mount Sinai, your best options is REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure, reliable, versatile and feature-rich web application for building and managing HIPAA- and IRB-compliant online surveys and databases. Researchers can create and design surveys in a web browser and engage potential respondents using a variety of notification methods.