by Alicia Briançon, Consultant
Trigger warning: If you spent weeks trying to find the “right instrument” only to find out it doesn’t exist (like me), then this may induce feelings of anxiousness. 😫
Let’s set the stage: You are typing away into the night to develop your purpose and problem statements for your dissertation and decide that the magic answer to your research design question is, “Yes, absolutely! This is going to be a quantitative study.” Awesome! You meet with your advisor and tell them the news and you think you’re going to just create your own because what you want to measure doesn’t quite exist already and you’re sure you can validate an instrument, because, to quote Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, “What, like, it’s hard?” You’re already knee-deep into your rigorous doctoral program and feel confident in your abilities. While meeting with your advisor, they explain that creating an instrument is in and of itself a “completely separate dissertation.”
By this point, you are feeling slightly defeated, but as we know, academia is a series of high and low points, and this too shall pass. So, where does one find an instrument? Good thing we have the Baylor library and expert librarians!
First, you need to determine what exactly you want to measure. This may seem simplistic in nature, but it is necessary. In the Ed.D program, we are encouraged to select an instrument before tackling other portions of our paper because it is central to the data design and data collection. In some respects, the instrument frames your entire dissertation. It can be helpful to see what other researchers used the same test or instrument in determining how you will apply it to your own.
There isn’t a formal process for finding the “perfect instrument.” However, the library commonly recommends two databases as starting points, which are APA Psych and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). The easiest way to find these databases is by searching by keyword under the databases tab on the Baylor University Library Website.
It is best to start with a broad topic and narrow it as you continue. Interestingly, there are three different versions of ERIC, but EBSCOHOST has advanced features and is education related. After scrolling down the page on the right-hand side there is a box titled ‘publication type’, and as you scroll you will see ‘test/questionnaire.’ Or, under EBSCOHOST you can put the name of the test in quotation marks with no other limitation and the exact name will be searched in all metadata.
Yes, you can use OneSearch to investigate journals, dissertations, books, e-books, etc., but there are less advanced searches with this path. It is your choice, though!
According to Amy James, the Director of Information and Instruction at the Baylor Library, “Many times, students know the name of the test in an article but can’t find the actual instrument, which is vital to your research. It is not enough to find an article that mentions your instrument of choice.” In the Appendices, you will have to include a copy of the real thing. It is rare, occurring only three times in three years, but if the instrument isn’t found internally then Dr. James goes to Google to hunt it down. Sometimes, the author will let you use their instrument for a small fee or ask that you attend accreditation training. There are benefits to this avenue if you plan on conducting additional research in the future. Also, it looks really cool on your CV and LinkedIn profile, right?!
I asked James if the reason why the instrument can’t be found is if the original author wants to make a profit or the instrument is just very new. She said, “it could be because the instrument is new, or it isn’t part of the current library paid package.” Again, while this is atypical, it is still good to know all the possible outcomes.
Know that you can always place a request with OSOFast, the interlibrary loan request system, which will search other institutions. The sky is the limit. OSOFast requests are sometimes addressed internationally too.
The moral is, don’t panic if you don’t know how to find an instrument. Now, you have some basic first steps and an entire library ready and willing to help you with your research goals, including finding the best instrument or test.