Scale Submission Form

Complete this form to submit a scale for implementation in the OpenScales OSD format. Required fields must be filled in to generate a valid OSD file; optional fields improve discoverability and can be completed by the OpenScales team from the published paper.

Prefer GitHub? Fork the repo and open a pull request via the Contribute page. You can also build and test your own OSD file at the Scale Builder.

Section 0: Copyright & Ownership

OpenScales only includes scales published under a CC license, in the public domain, or explicitly declared free for use by the rights holder. Translations of proprietary scales are derivative works and are of limited use without the original. CC-licensed publications must contain the item text (in body, table, appendix, OSF, etc.) — papers reporting psychometric properties without item text are not suitable.

Who holds the copyright? (e.g. author name, institution, or "published CC BY 4.0 in [journal]")
We recommend CC BY 4.0. CC BY-ND and CC BY-NC will be hosted in a restricted repository.
  • CC0: Public Domain — No rights reserved; waiver not technically a license
  • CC BY 4.0: Attribution — Most permissive true license; only requirement is credit
  • CC BY-SA 4.0: Attribution-ShareAlike — Derivatives must use same license (copyleft)
  • CC BY-ND 4.0: Attribution-NoDerivatives — Share verbatim only; no remixing or adaptation
  • CC BY-NC 4.0: Attribution-NonCommercial — Adapt freely but not for commercial purposes
  • CC BY-NC-SA 4.0: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike — NC + derivatives must use same license
  • CC BY-NC-ND 4.0: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives — Most restrictive; share verbatim, non-commercial only
If you are the rights holder, assert your rights here: "I, [name], assert that I developed [scale] and wish to submit it to OpenScales under [license]. Contact: [email]."
Link to the CC-licensed paper or official page where the scale is made available.

Section 1: Scale Identity

Basic identifying information about the scale.

Complete name as it should appear in publications.
Short abbreviation (e.g. PHQ-9, CMS, MCF-9).
Language of the submitted items. Translations of proprietary scales are derivative works.
1–3 sentences: what the scale measures, key psychometric properties (reliability, sample), and how to interpret scores (higher = ?).
Who is this scale designed for? Age range, language, clinical vs. general, etc.

Section 2: Citation

Publication information for the scale.

Full APA citation of the paper that introduced or most recently validated this scale.

Section 3: Response Scale

Define the response options participants see.

Numeric value and text label for each response option, one per line. E.g.: 1 = Strongly disagree
Verbatim instructions shown to participants before the items, if any.
Common stem shared by all items, if any (e.g. "In the past month, how often have you…?").

Section 4: Administration

Presentation settings.

If the scale name should not be shown to respondents, provide an alternative title (or leave blank to hide it entirely).
Should items be presented in fixed order or randomized?

Section 5: Items

Provide all item text verbatim. Item numbers will not appear in the OSD.

One item per line, numbered. Mark reverse-scored items with (R) or − at the end. Example:
1. I lead a purposeful and meaningful life.
2. My social relationships are supportive and rewarding. (R)

Section 6: Scoring & Subscales / Dimensions

Subscales can overlap; reverse-coded items are handled at the scale level. An item may be positively coded for one subscale and negatively coded for another.

Enter 1 if the scale is unidimensional.
For each subscale: name, abbreviation, description, item numbers (mark reversed with R or −), and scoring method (mean/sum). Example:
Subscale 1 — Significant Other (SO): items 1, 2, 5, 10 — mean score
Subscale 2 — Family (Fam): items 3, 4R, 8, 11 — mean score
Is there a total score across all subscales? If yes, how is it computed?
Any thresholds, cutoffs, or benchmarks.

Section 7: Translations

List any additional validated languages and attach or paste item text below.

For each language, list the language name/BCP-47 code and paste the verbatim item text numbered by the same item numbers as Section 5.
Notes on translation procedure, back-translation, or adaptations.

Section 8: Additional Notes

Anything else the OpenScales team should know.

Randomization requirements, skip logic, special populations, known limitations, open materials URL (OSF, GitHub, etc.), parameter substitution needed (e.g. scale names a specific target group that should be customizable).

Fields marked Required are needed to generate a valid OSD file. Fields marked Recommended greatly improve discoverability and usability.

Questions? Open a GitHub issue or contact the OpenScales team.