Utrecht University Library holds a (small) collection of testing materials. Testing materials include tests (for example intelligence tests, personality tests), questionnaires and observation scales. Testing materials can be used for teaching purposes or academic research and are only available for students and staff of the department of Education and Pedagogy, and the department of Psychology of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences of Utrecht University.
Practical information about the collection of testing material can be found on the web page of the Testing Materials Library. Information about borrowing tests can be found under the heading Access and Permission Rights
COTAN is the Dutch Committee on Tests and Testing of the Dutch Association of Psychologists (NIP). COTAN aims to promote the quality of tests and tests use in the Netherlands. Reviews of testing materials are published in the COTAN Documentatie (in Dutch only).
Working with officially registered testing materials is not always standard in academic research. It is often the case that researchers create their own testing material without an official quality evaluation. Finding unregistered testing material can be tricky. Often the title or the construct it aims to measure is not listed or the material cannot or can barely be found in search engines.
More and more tests and questionnaires have a digital scoring, for instance by means of a scoring platform on the publisher's site. An account with scoring units is needed. Within the university this way of scoring is still in development, and not always possible.
Minds is a test manager programme: a package for use in psychological assessment, research and for educational purposes.
You search for testing materials in WorldCat
In the search box enter: testotheek, followed by a word or a combination of words (or abbreviations) from the title of the test and/or the author's name.
In the left hand column on the screen you can tick the box 'Utrecht University Library'. As a result, only the Utrecht material is shown.
If the title is not among the search results, untick the box 'Group related editions' (and filter on 'Utrecht University Library').
Available - for reference only in this case means that this material can be borrowed but only by a limited group (students and staff members of the departments of Education and and Psychology).
In the list of search results the availability of only one copy of the test is shown. Click on the title of the test to view the availability of all copies. Next you can request the test.
If you want to borrow a test click on the title of the test and next on the detailed representation on the Request item@UU button.
More information about WorldCat
Suppose you are looking for tests in the field of intelligence or language development, where to begin?
If you are looking for (or want to find out more about) a test in a particular field, the best way is to search in one or more of the databases below:
The online COTAN Documentatie (in Dutch only)
The Commissie Testaangelegenheden Nederland (COTAN) ('Commission for Test Affairs in the Netherlands') reviews a broad range of tests and questionnaires which are used in the Netherlands and are offered up for review at the COTAN. In the online COTAN Documentation you will find a complete and up-to-date overview of these reviews as well as some extra information.
The Databank Instrumenten (Dutch only) of the Netherlands Youth Institute
This database contains descriptions of 128 instruments which help professionals in the youth sector in forming decisions and judgments. In particular: indicating problems, risk estimation, diagnostics, care referral and evaluation.
Measurement instruments
Overview of psychological measurement instruments from the Tijdschrift voor psychiatrie, with information about availability and/or free download.
Other search systems
In the overview of search systems in the discipline of Psychology you will also find databases such as HaPI (Health and Psychosocial Instruments), PsycINFO and Scopus.
In general they offer data on articles in scientific journals or books in which tests or questionnaires are mentioned, but as a rule you will not find the questionnaires themselves or other information needed to hold the tests.
Once you have found out which test you need, check WorldCat if the test is available in the Testing Materials Library.
Publishers also provide lots of information about tests.
Some important publishers of tests in the Netherlands:
If you have found a suitable test or questionnaire in WorldCat, you can request the items by clicking on Request item@UU. Next you can collect the test at the service desk of University Library Uithof.
On the web page of the Testing Materials Library under Requesting via WorldCat and borrowing you will find information about:
Please note! Due to copyright regulations it is not permitted to photocopy testing materials. You must use only the materials provided by the publisher (scoring forms, answer forms etc.).
Testing material can also be used for teaching purposes within the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences.
If you are a lecturer at the faculty (and if you have a library card and permission for borrowing testing material) you can request teaching material for a course programme yourself.
In the field Observations enter the required number of copies and the teaching period. Request teaching material at least two weeks before the start of a course.
Requests made for teaching purposes take priority over normal requests, but are not always visible in Worldcat.
