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      Psychological and Educational Tests Information
 
 

 

What is a psychological or educational test?
How do I find test reviews?
Where can I find a brief guide to locating test information? Where do I find copies of tests at UQ?         
Where do I find information about tests in the UQ Library? Test publishers and how to find them
How do I find tests on a particular subject? Internet resources
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    What is a psychological or educational test?

    A test is..

      "an instrument or systematic procedure for measuring a sample of behavior."
      (Gronlund, Norman E.. and Robert L. Linn. Measurement and evaluation in teaching. 6th ed. New York, Macmillan, 1990, p. 5.)

    Psychological testing..

      "deals with the development, validation, administration, scoring, and interpretation of psychological tests. Psychological tests are defined as standardized, repeatable procedures used to elicit and measure samples of human behavior. ...Because testing involves measurement, tests have procedures for coding, scoring, or quantifying the behavior that is elicited so that it can be compared with normative data systematically collected on similar samples. Testing is used to evaluate (1) human abilities, including intelligence, aptitudes, skills, and achievement in various areas; (2) personality characteristics, which include traits, attitudes, interests, and values; and (3) adjustment and mental health, which involves detecting signs and symptoms of psychological and neurological disorders and appraising the effectiveness of psychological functioning."
      (Kazdin, Alan E. Encyclopedia of psychology. Washington, D.C., American Psychological Association, 2000, vol. 8, p. 47-48.)

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    Where can I find a brief guide to locating test information?

    A good starting point is the guide produced by the American Psychological Association.

    Finding information about Psychological Tests - American Psychological Association http://www.apa.org/science/faq-findtests.html

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    Where do I find information about tests in the UQ Library?

    The UQ Library holds many books and journals which provide information on psychological and educational tests. To find this information, use the following search options:

    Subject search Psychological Tests or Educational Tests and Measurements
    To find journals, use a subject search Psychological Tests - Periodicals or Educational Tests and Measurements - Periodicals
    For more specific topics, use the Word search in the library's catalogue Connect your keywords with the word and. For example, search for reading and testing

    You can browse the catalogue, or browse the shelves at the following call numbers -

      • BF 176 - Psychological tests
      • LB3051 - Educational tests and measurements
      • Z5814 - Educational & Psychological tests - Bibliographies

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    How do I find tests on a particular subject?

    A major source for tests is the Mental Measurements Yearbook. Each edition has a subject index.

    Mental measurements yearbook SS&H Ref Z5814.P8M4

    To find tests on a particular subject, use the online subject index to Mental Measurements Yearbook from the 9th Edition onwards:

    Test Reviews Online -- Category Search http://buros.unl.edu/buros/jsp/category.html
    Test Reviews Online -- Keyword Search http://buros.unl.edu/buros/jsp/search.jsp

    The Online subject index also indicates which edition of the Mental Measurements Yearbook includes information about the test you have selected.

    For example, in the listing under the subject Personality, you will see

    Basic Personality Inventory, 12th MMY
  • This means that you will find information about the test called Basic Personality Inventory in the 12th edition of the Mental Measurements Yearbook (MMY).
  • Then go to the print volumes of Mental Measurements Yearbook, or connect to the online version, to find the information.
    		•

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    How do I find test reviews?

    Specialised test review publications

    The most important sources of test reviews are specialised reference publications which provide descriptions and expert reviews of tests. The following are available in the UQ Library

    Tests in print SS&H Ref Z5814.E9T4 1961- / Electronic access
    Mental measurements yearbook SS&H Ref Z5814.P8M4 / Electronic access
    Test critiques SS&H Ref BF176.T419 1984-
    Tests: a comprehensive reference for assessments in psychology, education and business SS&H Ref Z5814.P8T4 2008

    To find reviews of a test

    Use the online Test Reviews Online database on the Buros Institute website. This will provide the locations of reviews of your selected test in the print reference source, Mental Measurements Yearbook. Alternatively, Tests in Print serves as a print index to all the Buros reference series on tests.


    For example, a search for the test Basic Personality Inventory produces these results

    Databases

    Reviews of tests, and other articles which deal with the use of tests in research, teaching, and other applications, are also published in journals. Find these articles by searching the electronic databases for Psychology and Education. Useful databases for reviews of educational and psychological tests include:

    PsycInfo American Psychological Association - International database of psychology. It includes materials from related disciplines such as medicine, psychiatry, education, social work, law, criminology, social science etc
    Eric The ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) database is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to provide extensive access to educational-related literature. In addition, ERIC provides coverage of conferences, meetings, government documents, theses, dissertations, reports, audiovisual media, bibliographies, directories, books and monographs.
    A+ (Australian Education Index) An indexing and full text database that provides Internet access to the scanned images of journal articles from published material on all aspects of education. It includes all the journal indexing from the Australian Education Index (AEI) database, which is produced by the Cunningham Library at the Australian Council for Educational Research.
    ProQuest Education Journals Incorporates every education and education-related title in the ProQuest databases - ProQuest Education Plus, ProQuest Professional Education and ProQuest Research Library. Of the 760 journals indexed and abstracted, more than 600 are provided in full text

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    Where do I find copies of tests at UQ?

    Many psychological and educational tests are restricted and may only be used by qualified people; others are unrestricted. Test collections are available for use by authorised UQ students and staff and are held at:

      • School of Psychology, University of Queensland
      • School of Education, University of Queensland

    The University of Queensland Library holds copies of some tests. To check whether the Library holds a particular test, search the catalogue for the title of the test.

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    Publishers of tests and how to find them

    The publishers of tests provide descriptions of tests, and information about cost and availability of test materials. Find the publisher of a test by searching Test Reviews Online, available on the Buros Institute website. This provides the names and addresses of the test publishers, including publishers' websites where available.

    The searchable ETS Test Collection includes details of over 25,000 tests, including publishers' addresses.

    Examples of Test publishers

    Australian Council for Educational Research http://www.acer.edu.au/
    Pro-Ed Publishing http://www.proedinc.com/
    Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. http://www3.parinc.com/

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    Internet resources

    Many useful sources of test information are available on the Internet. Try some of the following sites:

    Buros Institute of Mental Measurements http://www.unl.edu/buros/index.html
    American Psychological Association - Testing and Assessment http://www.apa.org/science/testing.html
    Test Reviews Online http://buros.unl.edu/buros/jsp/search.jsp
    Buros online index to tests in the Mental Measurements Yearbook http://buros.unl.edu/buros/jsp/category.html
    Finding information about Psychological Tests - APA online guide http://www.apa.org/science/faq-findtests.html
    APA - Links to Other Testing-Related Sites http://www.apa.org/science/testsite.html
    ETS Test Collection http://www.ets.org/testcoll/index.html
    International Personnel Management Association http://www.ipma-hr.org/
    Educational Testing Service http://www.ets.org/
    All the Tests - free tests, design-your-own http://www.allthetests.com/

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    Updated August 2008

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