Nursing: Tests and Measures

Tests and measures are used in nursing for assessment and research.

Types of Tests Measures Include:

• Questionnaires
• Scales
• Surveys
• Psychological tests

Published vs. Unpublished Explained:

• Copies of unpublished test and measures can at times be found within articles, databases, and the open web. In many cases, the author must be contacted directly.
• Copies of published (commercially available) tests and measures are purchased from publishers, but can be identified within articles, databases, and the open web.

CINAHL is a comprehensive resource for nursing and allied health literature.

MEDLINE

This database provides access to authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more. Created by the National Library of Medicine, MEDLINE uses MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) indexing with tree, tree hierarchy, subheadings and explosion capabilities to search citations from over 5,400 current biomedical journals.

Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition

This database provides nearly 550 scholarly full text journals focusing on many medical disciplines. Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition also features the AHFS Consumer Medication Information, which covers 1,300 generic drug patient education sheets with more than 4,700 brand names.

Additional Databases:

• ETS Test Collection 
  A database of more than 25,000 published (commercially available) and unpublished tests. Abstract and availability information freely provided. Purchasing options available for some published tests.
• CMS Measure Inventory Tool (CMIT)
  The repository of record for information about the measures which CMS uses to promote healthcare quality and quality improvement. From The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.

• Identifying a test and locating a copy are often two different steps.
• Use a literature database like CINAHL to identify a test.
• If a copy of the test isn't available in the literature database, try using ETS Test Collection or Tests in Print identify its source.
• Reviews of tests might be found in literature databases, but can also be found in Tests in Print and purchased for a fee.
• Tests and measures are also called instruments.