Eastern Michigan University Library

How to find reviews of:
EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS

Start with the Mental Measurements Yearbook database, which contains the full-text of reviews starting with the Ninth Mental Measurements Yearbook. The entries for most of the tests, though not all of them, include two independent reviews of each test.

• If you have a particular test in mind, first type a few words from its title in the first seach box, then change the adjacent drop-down menu from Select a Field (optional) to TI Test Name. For example, to search for reviews of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test type wechsler individual achievement.
  
• For titles of tests in the first sixteen yearbooks, including the first eight yearbooks not included in the online database, consult Tests in Print VII (Ref Z 5814 .E9 T47 ed. 7 2006) the “Index of Titles” (pp. 799-846) or “Index of Acronyms” (pp. 877-906).
• [NOTE: At this time the database only includes reviews for the NEWEST version of a test. To locate reviews of an earlier version of a test in the print Mental Measurements Yearbook, look at the 'References:' field of the database description for the test. For example, the database includes two reviews of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition. To locate reviews of the Third Edition, consult the 'References:' field of the record for the Fourth Edition. You will see, among other information, 'for reviews by Jeffrey P. Braden and Jonathan Sandoval of an earlier edition, see 12:412'. This means you will find reviews of the Third Edition in the Twelth Mental Measurements Yearbook, Test Number 412.]

Look at the reviews in Test Critiques, volumes 1-11 (Ref BF176.T418).  Consult the "Index of Test Titles" and/or the "Subject Index" in the latest volume of the set for a cumulative index of reviews.
NOTE: The latest volume (11) was published in 2005. You will not find reviews of tests here that were published or revised after 2003.

If you are seeking three reviews of the latest version of a test, and you know that the Mental Measurements Yearbook database often (but not always) offers two reviews, you might start your search by identifying tests that have reviews in educational and/or psychological journals. From the test reviews you discover in the journals, choose a test that interests you and then search for the test name in the Mental Measurements Yearbook database to see if two additional reviews are available via that source.

• To search for test reviews in the ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) database
• In the first search box, type the phrase       test reviews
• Change the menu at the end of the first search line from Keywords, KW=   to   Descriptors, DE=
• On the line beginning Limited to: place a check next to Journal Articles Only
• Click the Search button
• To search for test reviews in Education Abstracts
• In the first search box type the phrase      tests and scales
• Change the drop-down menu at the end of the first search line from Keyword   to   Descriptor Phrase
• In the second search box type     reviews
• Change the drop-down menu at the end of the second search line from Keyword   to   Descriptor Phrase
• Click the Search button
• To search for test reviews in the PsycINFO database
• In the first search box, type       test review*        [NOTE: Include the asterisk]
• On the line beginning Limited to: place a check next to both Journal Articles Only and English Only
• Click the Search button
  • If you want to search for a reveiw of a specific test:
    -- In the first search box on the first line, type       review or test review*
    -- In the first search box on the second line, type the test name
    -- On the line beginning Limited to: place a check next to Journal Articles Only and English Only
    -- Click the Search button

Keith Stanger
Eastern Michigan University Library
keith@stanger.com
(734) 487-0020  x2136
July 8, 2010