Author: Marta Soto

APA PsycTests Expert Tip: Finding Psychometric Information about a Test

Posted on by Marta Soto in For Librarians

APA PsycTests® can help you find an existing test that you can reuse in your own research. In doing so, you may want to evaluate the psychometric data that were reported by the original test developer.  

Psychometrics is the branch of psychology that studies the quantification and measurement of mental attributes, behavior, and performance, as well as the design, analysis, and improvement of the tests and other instruments used in such measurement.  

You will find three types of psychometrics included in an APA PsycTests record, when the information is provided by the original author and publisher of the test.  

  • Reliability describes the consistency of scores across contexts (e.g., different times, items, or raters), and provides an estimate of the amount of score variance that is due to true variance between subjects rather than to error.  
  • Validity is the degree to which a test or instrument is capable of measuring the stated construct, rather than some other trait or concept.   
  • Factor Analysis is a broad family of mathematical procedures that reduce a set of interrelations among stated factors to a smaller set of unobserved latent factors.  
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Tutorial Thursday – How to Find Preprint Articles in PsycINFO through EBSCOhost

Posted on by Marta Soto in For Librarians

It’s Tutorial Thursday! In this series, we explore APA’s library of video tutorials available on the APA Publishing Training YouTube channel. Please feel free to link to or embed our videos in your library websites or LibGuides, course management systems, or other locations where students, faculty, and researchers will find them.

A new version of the tutorial How to Find Preprint Articles in PsycINFO through EBSCOhost is available.

In this short video you’ll learn how to find preprint articles in PsycINFO when you are accessing it through the EBSCOhost platform. We’ll start with a brief description of preprint articles including why they matter. Next, we’ll demonstrate how to access them and how to create an alert to stay current on upcoming preprints in your research area.

By the end of this video you will be able to:

  • Recognize the value of preprint articles.
  • Identify several ways preprint articles are referred to by databases and publishers.
  • Access preprint articles in EBSCOhost.
  • Create an alert in EBSCOhost to access forthcoming preprint articles.

Tutorial Thursday – Searching PsycINFO’s Tests and Measurements Field on EBSCOhost

Posted on by Marta Soto in For Librarians

It’s Tutorial Thursday! In this series, we explore APA’s library of video tutorials available on the APA Publishing Training YouTube channel. Please feel free to link to or embed our videos in your library websites or LibGuides, course management systems, or other locations where students, faculty, and researchers will find them.

A new version of the tutorial Searching PsycINFO’s Tests and Measurements Field on the EBSCOhost platform is available.

This short video shows how to use the Tests & Measures field in PsycINFO to look up information related to psychological tests and measures. While we’ll show how to use PsycINFO from the EBSCOhost platform, the strategies introduced here are applicable for any version of PsycINFO. First, we’ll demonstrate how to use the Tests & Measures field to identify research instruments on a particular topic. Next, we’ll show how to locate research that uses specific psychological tests or measures. By the end of this video, you’ll know when and how to use PsycINFO to access tests and measures information.

By the end of this video you will be able to:

  • Identify tests and measures on a specific topic
  • Locate research that uses a particular test or measure

Webinar Alert: Fall Sessions for PsycINFO & PsycTESTS

Posted on by Marta Soto in For Faculty, For Librarians

Beyond Subject Searching

Join us this fall for a Beyond Subject Searching webinar – designed for librarians and other expert users of PsycINFO. If you’re looking to expand your search skills, or just need a PsycINFO refresher, we hope you’ll join us!

This 45 minute session includes a behind the scenes look at the PsycINFO record structure and live search demos.

Learn how to use PsycINFO for more than just locating articles, such as identifying the types of research being done at a particular institution and finding journals in which to publish new work.

We’ll also search for information on grants and sponsorships, and on tests and measures and will highlight our Record Structure and Field Guide — tools that can help you become your library’s PsycINFO expert.

You can register with GoTo Webinar for one of the following times.

  • Thursday, Sep 12, 2019 2:00 PM EDT
  • Tuesday, Oct 8, 2019 1:00 PM EDT
  • Wednesday, Nov 13, 2019 2:00 PM EST

Can’t join us at the times listed?

New Features on PsycTESTS

PsycTESTS is APA’s research database that provides access to psychological tests, measures, scales, surveys, and other assessments as well as descriptive information about each test and its development and administration.

In May 2019, APA released a major update for PsycTESTS, which restructured how records display and added new searchable and descriptive fields.

If you use PsycTESTS on EBSCOhost, you can register for a webinar scheduled for Wednesday, September 25, to learn more about the new features.

If you use PsycTESTS on ProQuest, keep an eye on our Vendor Reload Status page or ask your vendor when these changes will go live. A training from APA will be coming soon!

If you use PsycTESTS on APA PsycNET or on Ovid, please see the recordings of these trainings on our YouTube channel.

Want to learn more? Read our blog post New Features Added to PsycTESTS.

Tutorial Thursday – Searching PsycINFO’s Tests and Measurements Field on APA PsycNET

Posted on by Marta Soto in For Librarians

It’s Tutorial Thursday! In this series, we explore APA’s library of video tutorials available on the APA Publishing Training YouTube channel. Please feel free to link to or embed our videos in your library websites or LibGuides, course management systems, or other locations where students, faculty, and researchers will find them.

A new version of the tutorial Searching PsycINFO’s Tests and Measures Field on APA PsycNET is available.
This short video shows how to use the Tests & Measures field in PsycINFO to look up information related to psychological tests and measures. First, we’ll briefly discuss how this approach differs from using APA’s PsycTESTS database. Then, we’ll focus on how to use the Tests & Measures field to identify research instruments on a particular topic. Next, we’ll show how to locate research that uses specific psychological tests or measures. By the end of this video, you’ll know when and how to use PsycINFO to access tests and measures information.

https://youtu.be/Zv_jdk4Bo9Q

By the end of this video you will be able to:

  • Identify tests and measures on a specific topic
  • Locate research that uses a particular test or measure