Finding Measures
Tests and measures are used in research and can take the form of surveys, questionnaires, instruments, scales, and more. Finding these materials can be particularly challenging. As you're navigating the resources on this page, note that:
- No single database provides full-text versions of all tests or measures, so this means that you will likely have to look in a few different places to find them.
- Some researchers and test creators publish their complete tests in books and journal articles. Others have sold the “rights” to their tests to publishing companies, and now the publishers distribute (sell) the tests.
- There are likely many options for relevant tests, depending on the people you want to study and what you want to learn about them.
Recommended Databases for Measures
While most journal articles will not reproduce a test or instrument in full, you may be able to find a few questions described in the Methodology or Appendix sections of articles. Articles can also help explain how measures have been used or tested.
To find articles that describe measures in the databases below, include terms like "assessment," "measure," "test," "survey," or "questionnaire" in your search along with the term you are measuring. For example: procrastination AND (assess* OR measur* OR test OR survey OR questionnaire OR scale). For more precise searching, use the Advanced Search to search by Abstract.
- Communication & Mass Media Complete (EBSCO)Provides content in areas related to communication and mass media. CMMC incorporates the content of CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association) and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Penn State) along with numerous other journals in communication, mass media, and other closely-related fields of study to create a research and reference resource encompassing the breadth of the communication discipline. Find more information.
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses GlobalA comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, spanning from 1743 to the present day and offering full text for graduate works added since 1997, along with selected full text for works written prior to 1997. It contains a significant amount of new international dissertations and theses both in citations and in full text.
- APA PsycINFOThis database is the American Psychological Association (APA)'s renowned resource for abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books and dissertations. PsycINFO is the largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health, with ninety-nine percent of the covered material peer-reviewed. Find more information.
- Google ScholarProvides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature, including articles, papers, theses, books, and reports. If you are off-campus, and do not see the Find article @ UNCW link, you can configure your Google settings. Find more information.
Books with Tests and Measures
Communication Research Measures by Call Number: P91.3 .C62 2009ISBN: 9780805852431Publication Date: 2009This sourcebook brings together scales that are drawn from areas of interpersonal, mass, organizational, and instructional communication.
Communication Research Measures II by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780805851335Publication Date: 2009-05-14
Communication Research Measures III by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780203730188Publication Date: 2019-09-20
The Sourcebook of Nonverbal Measures by Call Number: ebookISBN: 0805847464Publication Date: 2005Includes both well-established and new measures used in researching nonverbal behaviors, illustrating the broad spectrum of measures appropriate for use in research.
Handbook of Multicultural Measures by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9781412996754Publication Date: 2011Offers extensive coverage of empirically-supported multicultural measurement instruments that span a wide variety of subject areas such as ethnic and racial identity, racism, disability, and gender roles.
Handbook of Marketing Scales: Multi-Item Measures for Marketing and Consumer Behavior Research (Third Edition) by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9781412996761Publication Date: 2011A compendium of multi-item measures for use in marketing and consumer behavior research.
Marketing Scales Handbook by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9781796226997Publication Date: 2019The bulk of the scales in this book focus on topics well known in the fields of marketing and consumer science such as products, branding, advertising, retailing, and purchasing.
Free Sources of Measures
- Communication Research Measures: James McCroskeyThis compilation consists of measures that have been developed by researchers at West Virginia University. They may be used for research or instructional purposes with no individualized permission.
- International Personality Item PoolIncludes more than 3,000 items and over 250 scales that have been constructed from the items. The items and scales are in the public domain, which means that one can copy, edit, translate, or use them for any purpose without asking permission and without paying a fee. Look up a trait and find a short list of items that seem to measure that construct.