Questionnaire & Scale Citation Generator

Your citations

Enter the title to see your citations.

How to Use the Questionnaire & Scale Citation Generator

1. 1. Decide what you are citing. A published test is cited by its manual; a scale that appeared in a journal article, by that article; a PsycTESTS record when you use what the record adds; a questionnaire that was never published, as an unpublished instrument.
2. 2. Enter the details of that source. Authors one per line, the year, the title, and the publisher, journal, database or institution. Paste a DOI if there is one.
3. 3. Add the measure's name and abbreviation. The tool writes the sentence form APA asks for the first time you name a measure: Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; Kroenke et al., 2001).
4. 4. Copy your citations. Each style's entry copies with its italics.

What to Cite for a Test, Scale or Questionnaire

APA's rule is to cite a test's supporting literature — its manual, or the journal article in which it was published — and to cite the test itself only when no such literature exists. A test database record such as a PsycTESTS entry is cited when you use the information the record adds.

Naming a Measure in Your Text

In APA Style, a published test's name is capitalized but not italicized — the Beck Depression Inventory-II, not the Beck Depression Inventory-II — while generic words stay lowercase (a depression scale). The first time you name a measure, give its abbreviation and its citation together, separated by a semicolon, as APA's own example does: Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5; Weathers et al., 2018). After that, use the abbreviation alone. MLA 9 and Chicago 18 have no special format for tests: they cite the manual as a book, the article as a journal article and the database record like any work in a database — which is what the generator does.

Test and Scale Citation Examples

A PsycTESTS record — the example APA itself uses:

The manual of a published test, the Beck Depression Inventory-II:

A scale published in a journal article — the PHQ-9, cited by the article that introduced it:

An unpublished questionnaire, with illustrative placeholder details:

Common Mistakes

• Citing the test by name alone. A reference list entry needs a source a reader can find — the manual, the article or the record.
• Citing PsycTESTS by default. Cite the database record only when you used what it adds; otherwise cite the manual or article.
• Italicizing the test's name in your sentences. Capitalize it, don't italicize it. Italics belong to titles in the reference.
• Defining the abbreviation and the citation in two sets of parentheses. Write (PHQ-9; Kroenke et al., 2001), not (PHQ-9) (Kroenke et al., 2001).
• Citing a scale you adapted as if it were your own. Cite the original and say what you changed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cite a scale in APA 7?

Cite the literature that documents it: the test manual for a published test, or the journal article in which the scale appeared. Then name the scale in your sentence with its abbreviation and that citation: Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; Kroenke et al., 2001). Cite the test itself only when there is no manual or article to cite.

Should I cite PsycTESTS or the original article?

Usually the original article or manual, because that is where the scale was published. Cite the PsycTESTS record when you used something the record provides — its summary, its psychometric details or the copy of the items it holds. APA formats the record as Author. (Year). Test name [Database record]. PsycTESTS. DOI.

How do I cite a questionnaire I wrote myself?

If it is part of your own study, you usually describe it in your method section and include it in an appendix rather than citing it. If you are citing someone else's unpublished questionnaire, give the author, year, title in italics, the description [Unpublished questionnaire] and the department and university.

Is a test name italicized in APA?

Not in your sentences. APA capitalizes the names of published and unpublished tests and their subscales but does not italicize them: the Beck Depression Inventory-II. In the reference list, the title of the manual or the database record is italicized like any standalone work.

How do I cite a scale I adapted?

Cite the original source of the scale, and describe your changes in your method section — for example, that you shortened it or changed the response format. If you reproduce the adapted items in a table, add a note that begins Adapted from and gives the source; the Figure & Table Citation Generator writes that note.

Do I need permission to use a published scale?

Often, yes. Many published tests are copyrighted and sold by their publishers, and some scales in articles carry their own terms. A citation credits the source; it does not give you permission to reproduce the items. Check the publisher or the PsycTESTS record's permissions information before you reprint a scale.