Assessment in Counseling
    and Psychotherapy

... research resources for counselling students

Web Destinations

Key Sites for Practitioners

American EducationalResearch Association
AERA is a professional organization composed of researchers from manydisciplines, including counseling. The website gives news about theprofessional organization but also contains interesting news and articles ofinterest to researchers.
http://www.aera.net

American EducationalResearch Association—Publications
At AERA's site, you can search the association's journal abstracts for articlesabout educational research and testing. AERA publishes four quarterly journals.
http://www.aera.net/pubs/

Body Mind Queendom
This site offers a variety of personality, intelligence, and health-relatedtests, including emotional and classical IQ, communication skills, burnout,coping, assertiveness, locus of control and attribution style, arguing style,jealousy, self-esteem, relationship satisfaction, depression, anxiety, PMS,sales personality, social anxiety, and the like. These tests are original butnot validated. The assessment tools are scored in real time online and areaccompanied by extensive interpretation of scores. Frequently visitors arereferred to a number of self-help resources and books. In addition, the siteoffers visitors' personal stories and advice columns, as well as numerousarticles on mental health and women's health. Perhaps the best use of this siteto show assessment and testing classes an example of how psychological testsare being used online.
http://www.queendom.com

Buros Institute of MentalMeasurements
The Buros Institute of Mental Measurements (publishers of the MentalMeasurements Yearbook) provides expert information to professionals who usecommercially published tests. It also stresses test development, research, andanalysis. The site contains an index of test reviews and an index of the MentalMeasurement Yearbooks, as well as information about the Oscar K. BurosLibrary of Mental Measurements, test locator pages, current journal articles,and links to related pages.
http://www.unl.edu/buros

Dr. Yu Chong Ho at Arizona State University
This site on educational assessment is relevant to clinicians and students whoneed a clear explanation of some basic assessment principles such as standardizedscores, validity, and reliability. The site is extensive and includesinformation and quizzes on intelligence testing, the Iowa tests, and othereducational measures.
http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~alex/teaching/assessment/assessment.html

ERIC Clearinghouse onAssessment and Evaluation
The ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation site includes a library ofarticles and books on assessment issues and an online bookstore. The site alsocontains a feature article and a research directory. For counselors, this maybe the most useful assessment site because it is possible to search for testpublishers and test reviews through the "test locator." There is adatabase of information on 10,000 tests. It is even possible to search fortests for particular problems such as ADHD. In addition, you can go to anInternet Resources section and find annotated links to the best sites on theInternet that address educational assessment, evaluation, and research. Thewebsite design has recently been improved, making it easy to navigate.
http://searcheric.org/

Information aboutPsychological Testing
A very basic overview of principles and procedures in psychological testingwritten by a practicing psychologist.
http://www.psychologicaltesting.com/testinfo.htm

National Center forResearch on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing
This site contains information about current topics in elementary and secondaryschool testing. There are newsletter files, reports, and a database ofalternative assessment devices.
http://cresst96.cse.ucla.edu/index.htm

National Center,Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
The National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment site isdevoted to research, discovery, and dissemination of information concerningstudent learning.
http://www.ed.psu.edu/cshe/nctla.html

National Council onMeasurement in Education
This site offers information on theories, techniques, and instrumentationavailable in the field, in addition to procedures of interpretation formeasurement instruments.
http://www.ncme.org

Personality Tests onthe WWW
The Personality Tests on the WWW site links professionals and nonprofessionalsto a variety of online personality tests, including a Keirsey TemperamentSorter and a VALS (Values, Attitudes and Life Styles), as well as a self-esteemtest and others. The page also gives an estimate of how long the test will taketo complete. For the most part these tests are unscientific and have valueprimarily as discussion starters in graduate or undergraduate assessmentclasses.
http://www.2h.com/Tests/personality.phtml

Rorschach Inkblot
The Rorschach organization hosts this site, which provides information aboutthe famous inkblot test, as well as books and other resources for furtherstudy. There are also links to related assessment and Rorschach sites.
http://www.rorschach.com/index.html

Key Sites for Client Information

American PsychologicalAssociation—Frequently Asked Questions on Tests
The APA answers questions about psychological testing. There are also links tostandards for testing and rights and responsibilities of test takers.
http://www.apa.org/science/testing.html

National Mental IllnessScreening Project
This is a nonprofit organization that holds national screening days for variousmental health problems, including anxiety, depression, alcohol, and eatingdisorders. Besides instructions for attending one of the screening days, onecan get information and obtain answers to frequently asked questions about eachof the disorders.
http://www.nmisp.org/

Annotated Bibliography

Foundational Works

American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
DSM-IV TR is the standard classification of mental disorders accepted by insurance companies. Compared to earlier versions, DSM-IV makes diagnosis a much simpler process. There are 17 major categories that encompass most Western psychological syndromes. The ability to make diagnostic assessments using DSM-IV has become necessary for all mental health professionals since it is the language spoken across disciplines.

Anastasi, A. (1996). Psychological testing (7th ed.). New York: Macmillan.
While Anastasi's book is technically a textbook, its endurance, popularity, and comprehensiveness have kept it on the bookshelves of clinicians as well as academics. Anastasi's book gives an overview of the whole area of psychological testing, including test construction, administration, and interpretation.

Impara, J. C., & Conoley, J. C. (Eds.). (1995).
The twelfth mental measurements yearbook. Lincoln, NE: Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.

Impara, J. C., & Plake, B. S. (Eds.). (1998).
The thirteenth mental measurements yearbook. Lincoln, NE: Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.

Plake, B. S., & Impara, J. C. (1999).
Supplement to the thirteenth mental measurements yearbook. Lincoln, NE: Buros Institute of Mental Measurements. These are the most recent volumes in a series that includes test reviews by assessment professionals critically evaluating their usefulness and psychometric properties. Each annotation includes a summary of research on the particular test. The website that is described later in this section will likely replace these yearbooks in the future.

Meehl, P. E. (1954). Clinical versus statistical prediction: A theoretical analysis and a review of evidence. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Paul Meehl, a well-known researcher, reviewed evidence that compared the accuracy of clinical and statistical prediction of outcome. Statistics included biographical data, demographics, and test results. He looked at clients in a variety of settings, including the military, prisons, and colleges. He found that decisions based on statistical information were superior to clinical judgments. This touched off a spirited debate in journals because it cast doubt on the judgments of clinicians and bolstered the claims of those who promoted testing.

Murphy, L. L., Impara, J. C., & Plake, B. S. (1999). Tests in print V. Lincoln, NE: Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.
Tests in Print is a companion to the Mental Measurements Yearbook, but instead of critical reviews, it gives basic information about each test and how to obtain it in a Publisher's Directory, including information on foreign tests. Especially useful are the indexes of authors, tests, reviews, excerpts, and references in the Mental Measurements Yearbooks.

Key Current Works

Bellack, A. S., & Hersen, M. (1998). Behavioral assessment: A practical handbook (4th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
As the title indicates, this volume focuses on the assessment of behavior rather than personality, interests, skills, or intelligence. There are sections on the assessment of problem behaviors in childhood, social skills, cognitive assessment, structured interviews, and rating scales.

Butcher, J. N. (Ed.). (1995). Clinical personality assessment: Practical approaches. New York: Oxford University Press.
Butcher is one of the foremost experts on the MMPI. This book of 32 chapters contains much more, though. There are sections on the assessment of suicide, early memories, and alcohol and drug problems. In addition, experts look at assessment of special populations and minorities, such as older adults, women, Hispanic clients, and Asian-American clients.

Corcoran, K., & Fischer, J. (1987). Measures for clinical practice: A sourcebook. New York: Free Press.
This is a collection of psychological instruments that can be copied and used with clients. Each instrument is described along with reliability and validity data. The tests are minor ones that focus more on specific areas of client functioning. For example, there is a copy of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test, The State-Trait Anger Scale, the Rational Behavior Inventory, Hopelessness Scale for Children, and the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire. The measures are broken down into Instruments for Adults, Instruments for Children, and Instruments for Couples and Families.

Groth-Marnat, G. (1997). Handbook of psychological assessment (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley.
Groth-Marnat's book has become a standard desk reference for clinicians who are learning to interpret psychological tests. Unlike some other books that cram all of the test interpretations into a chapter or two, Groth-Marnat takes his time with each test. There are separate chapters on the Wechsler Scales, MMPI, MCMI, CPI, Rorschach, TAT, and Projective Drawings. There are also chapters on Behavioral Assessment, Neuropsychological Screening, and Interviewing, and clear instructions on writing the psychological report.

Kapes, J. T., Mastie, M. M., & Whitfield, E. A. (1994). A counselor's guide to career assessment instruments (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: NCDA.
This is the most recent edition; it reviews 52 instruments, including aptitude, achievement, interest, and personality measures, as well as instruments for disabled and disadvantaged populations. It includes card sorts, portfolios, career assessment components of computer-assisted guidance systems, and 250 additional annotated instruments.

McGrew, K. S., & Flanagan, D. P. (1998). The intelligence test desk reference (ITDR): Gt-Gc cross battery assessment. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
This book evaluates three IQ traditions: information processing, psychometric, and cognitive modifiable theories of intelligence.

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