Frequently Asked Questions About PsycTESTS^®

PsycTESTS^® is a database for scholarly, published accounts of test development or assessment plus downloadable copies of tests whenever they are available to us. We encourage authors to contribute their tests to PsycTESTS. Sample records illustrate the kind of information that will be included in addition to the tests.

If you have developed a test and would like it included in PsycTESTS you can email a copy along with a related citation (article, dissertation, technical report, or book). Associated materials such as instructions or scoring information can also be included. Visit the Call for Tests page for more details.

We ask authors to sign a non-exclusive agreement (PDF, 36KB) acknowledging that they own the rights to their tests and authorizing APA to include the content in PsycTESTS on a non-exclusive basis. Email the signed agreement or fax it to 202-336-5633.

Only tests that are reported in the scholarly literature are included in PsycTESTS.

As part of our ongoing production, the PsycTESTS content development staff are reaching out to the test development and assessment community. We are working hard to get the word out about the opportunity to include your tests in this new database. We also believe it is advantageous to you as it increases the number of people seeing your work and adds to the potential for more citations.

If the validity and reliability data are included in the article about the test, then the PsycTESTS record will indicate the presence of such data. Sample records illustrate this type of coverage. For more information see the vendor-specific videos on validity and reliability data in PsycTESTS, available on YouTube.

Yes, although the bulk of our effort in creating PsycTESTS records is related to tests that are not commercially available, because they are more difficult to find and are often overlooked. Over time the coverage of commercial tests in PsycTESTS with links to sources will become more comprehensive.

For more information, see the vendor-specific YouTube videos on fees, permissions, and other factors to consider when using tests in the PsycTESTS database.

Look for the Permissions field. When it reads "May use for Research/Teaching," the test can be used for non-commercial research or educational purposes. This also permits general use in a clinical setting. However, it is important to note that most tests in the database do not include all the materials you need to administer and score the test. Although the test text itself is provided, supplemental material such as instructor guides and answer sheets typically are not. 

To use a test for commercial gain or to reproduce it for other uses, you are required to contact the copyright owner for permission. For example, republishing a test or reproducing it on the open internet require copyright owner permission, as does using a test in research intended to support commercial gain. 

You can use the information in the records to contact the author or publisher for this permission. Even if you are not using the test in a commercial setting, you may wish to contact the author for additional information about the test that will help you understand how best to administer it and interpret the results.

Look for the Permissions field. When it reads "May use for Research/Teaching," the test can be used for non-commercial research or educational purposes. This also permits general use in a clinical setting. To use a test for commercial gain or to reproduce it for other uses, you are required to contact the copyright owner for permission. For example, republishing a test or reproducing it on the open internet require copyright owner permission, as does using a test in research intended to support commercial gain.

PsycTESTS is available on the APA PsycNET^®, EBSCOhost, ProQuest, and OvidSP, platforms.

The same type of fielded searching used for other APA databases can be used for finding content in PsycTESTS. Index terms from the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms^® and keyword concepts are included. Sample records further illustrate the many fields included in PsycTESTS.

The bibliographic specialists who create the records in PsycTESTS are among the most experienced. Their meticulous work focuses on information accuracy and thorough indexing, which together yield effective search results.

For more help on searching the PsycTESTS database, see this YouTube playlist of PsycTESTS help tutorials.

PsycTESTS is a complementary database to PsycINFO^® and the other APA databases. It includes a substantial amount of content that is not in PsycINFO. Whereas PsycINFO is a very large bibliographic database that covers the breadth of psychology, PsycTESTS is a small hybrid database that includes structured records plus full text and focuses solely on tests and measures and the literature about them.

PsycTESTS records are enriched with a large amount of test-specific descriptive information (see the Sample Records page). Among the fields are purpose, construct, reliability, validity, format, number of items, and many others.

The added material transforms PsycTESTS into a discovery and assessment tool specifically about tests and allows users to also trace the lineage of tests.

The PsycTESTS web page is updated monthly to show the most current number of test records. Because this is a new database, we will be in a high growth phase for at least another year. We are updating the database every month.

Visit the Access tab of the PsycTESTS homepage for the most current information.

PsycTESTS is available on the APA PsycNET, EBSCOhost, OvidSP, and ProQuest platforms.

PsycTESTS differs from other resources in several ways:

• Type of Measures Covered — PsycTESTS focuses primarily on unpublished (not commercially available) tests and is adding a growing list of commercial tests as well. Some resources, such as Mental Measurements Yearbook and Tests in Print, cover only commercially published tests.
• Test Availability — PsycTESTS includes full-text tests for a very high percentage of the tests covered, whereas some resources are all or primarily bibliographic listings. Some PsycTESTS records also include Supporting Documentation.
• Subject Matter — PsycTESTS covers a much broader spectrum of psychology and related fields than most other resources.
• Year Range — PsycTESTS contains tests that were developed between 1910 and the present. Other resources tend to focus only on older content or cover only new ones.
• Links to Other Content — PsycTESTS records include a link to the PsycINFO record for the source document as well as a DOI link to the source document itself.
• Richness of Record — Highly descriptive metadata and summary can be found in each record.
• Updates — PsycTESTS is an electronic database that is updated monthly; some other resources are updated less frequently.