APA Referencing
Psychometric tests
Example – commercially published test, citing its manual
Scroll down for associated examples
Psychological tests may be published commercially (usually for use in practice), or non-commercially by the test’s creator (usually for research use), perhaps within a journal article or on the test creator’s website.
If possible, cite the test by its supporting literature, such as a publication it first appeared in or which is associated with it: If the test simply appears within a journal article, just cite that article in the usual format. If you obtain the test from the test creator’s website, it may be cited as the website or they may request you to make certain citations (e.g. to a particular journal article about it). If the test is commercially-produced, cite the test’s manual like a book.
Reference list: Wechsler, D. (1997). WAIS-III: Administration and Scoring Manual. The Psychological Corporation.
Citation: (Wechsler, 1997)
Other Examples
Scale is included in journal article and intended for research purposes
Reference:
McCreary, D. R. & Sasse, D. K. (2000). An Exploration of the Drive for Muscularity in Adolescent Boys and Girls. Journal of American College Health, 48(6), 297-304. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448480009596271
Citation:
(McCreary & Sasse, 2000) or participants completed McCreary and Sasse’s (2000) Drive for Muscularity Scale…
Commercially-published test, no manual but associated with journal article
Reference:
Zigmond, A. S. & Snaith, R. P. (1983). The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 67(6), 361-370.
Citation:
“…participants completed the HADS (Zigmond & Snaith, 1983)…” or …Zigmond and Snaith (1983)….
Do not have manual, referencing test directly, commercially-produced test
Reference:
Bene, E. & Anthony, J. (1985). Family Relations Test: Children’s Version [Measurement instrument]. NFER-Nelson
Citation:
(Bene & Anthony, 1985)… or …Bene and Antony (1985)…
Organisation(s) as author, available from website
Reference:
NHS Scotland, University of Warwick & University of Edinburgh. (2006). The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale [Measurement instrument]. https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/med/research/platform/wemwbs/
Citation:
(NHS Scotland, University of Warwick & University of Edinburgh, 2006)…
Citing and referencing items or scales from the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP)
The IPIP is a collection of several thousand items measuring individual differences, some arranged into scales. There is no one scale that can be described as “the IPIP”. Guidance for citing and referencing the scales is available on the IPIP website at https://ipip.ori.org/newCitation.htm