URL:

http://www3.parinc.com/

Description:

PAR, Inc. is a company that publishes psychological tests, software, and assessment instruments for clinical, educational, counseling, and business settings.

Types of Information or Instruments:

PAR sells a variety of assessments that are grouped in categories such as achievement, business, career development, neuropschology, behavior, health, and stress. Within each category are several subcategories in which the assessments are available.

Quantity of Instruments:

There are more than a hundred tests available for purchase.

Quality of Instrument Descriptions:

There is very little educational information here. In the description of a few instruments, basic reliability and validity information is reported. Many of the scales have technical manuals, but the technical information is not apparent from the description.

Quality of Psychometric Information:

Psychometric information is not provided on the site.

Scale accessibility:

Registration, which is free, is required to purchase assessments. One caveat: in order to purchase the instruments, one must qualify by having the appropriate level of education, training, and professional experience appropriate to the test subject, to be determined by PAR.

Site provides actual scale items:

There are no immediately useable scale items. Prices vary widely depending upon the test. Manuals, test booklets, scoring booklets, and glossaries are priced separately.

User-friendly navigation:

The site is easy to navigate.

Other types of Information:

PAR publishes two journals: Assessment and Journal of Career Assessment. Only the table of contents and abstracts are available online. They also sponsor workshops in Personality Assessment Inventory and Self-Directed Search that are approved by the American Psychological Association for continuing education credits.

Hints:

Coming Soon: Read our section on dealing with commercial test producers.

Category:

Nondisease-specific Outcomes