Finding Surveys and Questionnaires
Research articles may have a survey, questionnaire, or test instrument used to provide data for the article attached as an appendix or contained somewhere in the article.
The ERIC/EBSCO database provides a useful search strategy to help find these instruments. Type a keyword or words related to the topic you are researching in the top search box (for example: sports participation) and then type Tests/Questionnaires in the second entry box and choose PU Publication Type from the dropdown menu to the right.
You should retrieve a list of articles with tests, questionnaires or surveys attached or contained in the article
“Appended” can also be used in searches in the PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES databases. However, when using this strategy in these particular databases, the results are varied and may demonstrate one of three things:
- items from the instrument are reproduced in a figure or table
- items from the test are described in the methods section
- or…(less commonly) that the full instrument is included as an appendix
Unfortunately, there is no way to learn which is the case in any results without examining the full text of each item.
To illustrate further using the PsycARTICLES or PsycINFO databases, you can search a topic like Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Subjects (SU) AND the word “appended” in Tests & Measures (TM) using the dropdown menus. When you look at the detailed description of an article from the results (by clicking on an article title), you will find “Tests & Measures” as you scroll down, among the other article details with a display similar to this:
Although the full measurement instrument or test that is listed may not be available within the article, it can be useful to know what tests were used or referred to in an article. The title of any given test or measure can then be searched as quoted text in a keyword or all text search to find other articles that use or refer to it.
