List of assessment measures that are free?

[ABCTIsNifty]

Hey all,

ABSTRACT: Is there a list of all free measures somewhere, so I can look into what works for me?

DISCUSSION:
I am conducting a study with an intervention designed to reduce people's social anxiety. I need a self-report measure for their social anxiety week after week.

This is harder than it sounds, as many measures ask about traits or about reactions to particular situations... and, e.g., you don't have a "confrontation with an authority figure" every week, so that question doesn't work.

I was going to try a brief form of SPAI, but ran into that problem. The STAI-Trait section has actually worked to show change in this type of study of social anxiety, even though it's for anxiety in general.

However, STAI is expensive and has other problematic administration restrictions. SCL-90 too.

I'm looking at SIAS and Michelle Newman's SPDQ, which may help. Can anyone think of other possibilities for my purpose?

And is there a list in general? This would help all of us in the future, I think. I did find this one which is definitely good but not comprehensive...

Thanks,

A

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[erg923]

Since your design is comparing changes from a baseline (rather than normative comparisons, whicih dont seem necessary here), why dont you just make up you own questions and form a scale?

Otherwise, look up stuff in the Mental Measurements Yearbook and see what is free.

 

[JockNerd]

Since your design is comparing changes from a baseline (rather than normative comparisons, whicih dont seem necessary here), why dont you just make up you own questions and form a scale?

I disagree. It's problematic from several standpoints--the novel measure would have no external validity or reliability data from any source, let alone data from a comparable population. It's psychometrically questionable to use the same sample for measure design and validity/testing. And, good measure design takes *years*; it's not something to just toss together. From a reviewing standpoint, "Other measures cost money" is not justification for using a novel measure.

The IPIP has anxiety and social-discomfort-type stuff. Otherwise, lit search "social anxiety" and look at what people have used in the last decade of empirical research.

 

[robinsena]

Don't know if you've tried this yet, but if you are currently a student I would suggest making an appointment with your university's librarian. My university has librarians that specialized in different databases and they are very savvy in helping students find the measures they need through the university. Best of luck.

 

[ABCTIsNifty]

Thanks for the suggestions, all.

There's some making up and modifying that I need to do, but that's only a last resort when nothing quite applies.

The Mental Measurement Yearbook sounds nifty, on reading a description of it, but I don't think our library has it.

I'd say there's probably no substitute for the work of litsearching through recent anxiety studies of all kinds. I'll get on that.

It seems like there is a serious need for a wiki for clinical researchers or students (there'd be sections), and I know there's some stuff like that, but I wish there were something better, e.g. for questions like these.

 

[Cigolon]

The Mental Measurement Yearbook sounds nifty, on reading a description of it, but I don't think our library has it.

i would be surprised if it doesn't. that book is a staple of measurement instruments and is a remarkable resource for exactly what you're trying to do. if it doesn't, i would check to see if there is another school nearby whos library is aligned with yours.

In NC we have a lot of work between the universities. locally we ship books between 3 colleges if needed (minus reference, but you can get photocopies of specific things). may be worth exploring anyway.

 

[psychnic]

I agree with the previous poster; if your university has online databases, the MMY is available through ebscohost.

i would be surprised if it doesn't. that book is a staple of measurement instruments and is a remarkable resource for exactly what you're trying to do. if it doesn't, i would check to see if there is another school nearby whos library is aligned with yours.

In NC we have a lot of work between the universities. locally we ship books between 3 colleges if needed (minus reference, but you can get photocopies of specific things). may be worth exploring anyway.

 

[cognosco]

I have used the STAI in my research by simply contacting the author and requesting permission. He sent me the paperwork via snail mail, and I had everything ready to go within a week. Many test developers will allow researchers to use their materials at a reduced (sometimes free) cost. On the other hand, clinicians will obviously have to pay full price. Hope this helps!

 

[ABCTIsNifty]

thanks for the input... I'll write the publisher tomorrow, so it'd be awesome if they are research friendly. (My advisor and I have actually contacted 2 authors of scales and got referred to the publisher.)

we do have EBSCOHost. I searched/looked around for the Mental Measurement Yearbook but haven't found it. Maybe I just don't know where to look? I could ask a librarian I guess.

 

[manko7]

Perhaps someone can correct me on this issue, but wouldn't the use of test materials by the owner of the test (i.e. the customer) be protected by Fair Use copyright laws if that material were being used for non-commercial purposes such as research or teaching, and as long as the owner ensures that he has full control over distribution (no online publishing, no letting subjects take the test home)?

Basically you would have to purchase the test before you could do this to prove ownership. If the use of the material were protected by Fair Use, then the copyright owner may still object, but cannot limit you on how you use the material.

One note though- If an author has a sold the rights to a company, his/her permission doesn't mean squat. He has relinquished his/her right to exert control over permission to use the test. So be careful about getting an authors permission.

 

[ABCTIsNifty]

well, that would be nice. It's not what I hear, around, though (someone told me today that a Penn State researcher is being sued for using some measure), or the word from the publishers directly.

I inquired with Pearson Assessments about the BDI-II, and I received a response including "As a student, if performing dissertation or thesis research, you may be eligible for a 50% research discount under Pearson's Research Assistance Program (RAP)"... so they do expect us to buy them. (Their program, btw, seems to only apply to research that will add to the body of knowledge about the BDI-II.)

There just doesn't seem to be good information out there about these types of issues. Now I'm on the hunt for a general anxiety measure (symptoms) that can be applied week-to-week. Many studies have actually successfully used the STAI-T, despite its being weird for this in terms of face validity IMHO, but that is copyrighted.

Beck Anxiety would be good, but is copyrighted, actually Burns Anxiety Inventory too--he (David D. Burns, feelinggood.com) does unlimited licensing, it says on his website, but he hasn't written me back since 2 days ago when I emailed about buying.

 

[LM02]

Check these out:

http://books.google.com/books?id=jI...measures+of+anxiety&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false

http://books.google.com/books?id=kckLDgTQ1kgC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=false

The books aren't free, but your library might be able to get them from interlibrary loan for you. They each provide detailed information re: measures for anxiety and depression, and include many copies of the non-copyrighted measures in the back of the book.

Oh, and a good alternative to the BDI-II is the IDS or the QIDS self-report. They are gaining in popularity - primarily because they were developed to improve upon some of the BDI's limitations. They are available for free from the developer's website (do a google search).

 

[cognosco]

I'd like to echo the above comments about the IDS/QIDS as a great alternative to the BDI. I used the QIDS during my master's thesis for no price at all. The people that publish the BDI also told me about the half-off discount, but the price was still ridiculous.

Regarding your issue about using the measures without paying, that has also occurred to me I discovered however, that you can't do this if expect to ever publish your results. I'm not sure what would happen, but I imagine the worst case scenario could involve litigation.

 

[psych00]

One note though- If an author has a sold the rights to a company, his/her permission doesn't mean squat. He has relinquished his/her right to exert control over permission to use the test. So be careful about getting an authors permission.

That is my impression of this issue also- I have been told that if you request permission directly from the author(s) and document that in writing then it is fine to use them. However, if they sold it and a newer version was created, then that is another issue. For example, the Ways of Coping Checklist is available from Sarah Folkman online and she has a pdf letter stating that you do not need further permission to use the measure, but that it was modified and sold to a company so that use of the newer version does require purchase. Does anyone know if receiving permission to use a measure for dissertation covers permission then to submit it for publication, or if you need separate permission to do so, or if you should just ask in the initial request if you can have permission to use it for dissertation and potential publication?

 

[manko7]

That is my impression of this issue also- I have been told that if you request permission directly from the author(s) and document that in writing then it is fine to use them. However, if they sold it and a newer version was created, then that is another issue. For example, the Ways of Coping Checklist is available from Sarah Folkman online and she has a pdf letter stating that you do not need further permission to use the measure, but that it was modified and sold to a company so that use of the newer version does require purchase. Does anyone know if receiving permission to use a measure for dissertation covers permission then to submit it for publication, or if you need separate permission to do so, or if you should just ask in the initial request if you can have permission to use it for dissertation and potential publication?

You would need to clarify if permission to use a measure includes permission to reprint that measure in full.

 

[manko7]

well, that would be nice. It's not what I hear, around, though (someone told me today that a Penn State researcher is being sued for using some measure), or the word from the publishers directly.

I inquired with Pearson Assessments about the BDI-II, and I received a response including "As a student, if performing dissertation or thesis research, you may be eligible for a 50% research discount under Pearson's Research Assistance Program (RAP)"... so they do expect us to buy them. (Their program, btw, seems to only apply to research that will add to the body of knowledge about the BDI-II.)

There just doesn't seem to be good information out there about these types of issues. Now I'm on the hunt for a general anxiety measure (symptoms) that can be applied week-to-week. Many studies have actually successfully used the STAI-T, despite its being weird for this in terms of face validity IMHO, but that is copyrighted.

Beck Anxiety would be good, but is copyrighted, actually Burns Anxiety Inventory too--he (David D. Burns, feelinggood.com) does unlimited licensing, it says on his website, but he hasn't written me back since 2 days ago when I emailed about buying.

I encourage you to not be quick to yield to rumors about so-and-so getting sued. Fair Use copyright laws may apply even despite the protests of the company. There is quite a bit of leniency with non-commercial enterprises such as research as long as you own the test. Just as long as you are not reprinting test materials for dissemination or online publishing. If you have paid for the test PAR, for example, cannot dictate who you can and cannot administer the test to.

Making copies of the test form subject score sheets may be a problem. But not if you don't use the exact copywrite form.