PsycINFO is the major database of psychology information and indexes published research in psychology since 1967. There are multiple ways to search for research instruments in PsycINFO. The most appropriate for you depends on what you want to know.
When searching by the name of a research instrument, it is often most effective to use a unique term or phrase from the name of the instrument, instead of the exact name.
PsycINFO records will mention if the author developed a research instrument in the context of the study. They will include the university or organizational affiliation of the authors. You may write to the author and ask for more information about the test or research instrument and its acquisition.
TESTS & MEASURES searches for the names of published tests and measurements used by a study. Go to the Limiters in PsycINFO (scroll down on the Advanced Search page or click Read More on the left menu of the Results page).
To search for material about specific research instruments, search for the name of your research instrument iteslf as an assigned Subject Heading using the drop-down list. (Use the thesaurus feature to find different subject headings in PsycINFO.)
SU Subjects = search for a word or phrase anywhere in the subject heading fields
MJ Word in Major Subject Heading = search for a word or phrase that is a major topic of the work anywhere in the Major subject heading field
DE Subjects (Exact) = search for a word or phrase that exactly matches an existing subject heading anywhere in the subject heading fields
To search for material unsing or about research instruments, search for the appropriate Subject Heading using the drop-down list. Use the thesaurus feature to find different subject headings in PsycINFO.
Sample PsycINFO Subject Headings (substitute for "Measurement" in the search above)
