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Edinburgh Handedness Inventory
Availability
Please visit these websites for more information about the instrument:
The 10-item paper and pencil version can be obtained here: Edinburgh Handedness Inventory
 
A 10-item online version of the instrument is available at: Edinburgh Handedness Inventory
 
The 4-item short form of the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory can be obtained from Appendix A of the author's paper. (Veale, 2014)
 
Please email the author for information about obtaining the instrument: jaimie@jaimieveale.com
 
Classification
Supplemental-Highly Recommended: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/Chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)
 
Exploratory: Huntington's Disease (HD)
Short Description of Instrument
The Edinburgh Handedness Inventory is a measurement scale used to assess the dominance of a person's right or left hand in everyday activities, sometimes referred to as laterality. This instrument measures both intellectual ability and motor function constructs and is the most commonly used tool for handedness. (Edlin et al., 2015; Caplan & Mendoza, 2011)
Comments
This task should be included in every neuroimaging study. Handedness is essential to interpret neuroimaging results. A study by Fazio et al., suggests that when the EHI is used for research purposes, it should be administered one-on-one to ensure that an individual follows the instructions exactly. (Fazio et al., 2012)
Scoring and Psychometric Properties
Scoring: The Edinburgh Handedness Questionnaire is a 10-item questionnaire designed to assess handedness by self-report of the preferred hand for carrying out common activities such as writing and drawing, throwing, and using utensils such as a toothbrush, knife, and spoon. Subjects place 1 or 2 check marks under "left" or "right," indicating strength of preference for each activity; 2 checks are to be used if the individual "would never try to use the other hand unless absolutely forced to" for the given function. A laterality quotient (LQ = R − L/R + L × 100) can be calculated where a score of 100 reflects complete right handedness, and a score of −100 is obtained by complete left handedness. (Caplan & Mendoza, 2011)
 
Psychometric Properties: The 10-item Edinburgh Handedness Questionnaire has been found to have a high internal consistency with an alpha of .93. (Williams et al., 1991)
 
The 4-item version of the Edinburgh Handedness Questionnaire has good psychometric properties and places a reduced burden on patients and research participants. (Veale, 2014)
Rationale/Justification
Strengths:
    • The 10-item Edinburgh Handedness Questionnaire has high internal consistency.
    • The questionnaire is easy to answer.
 
Weaknesses:
    • The procedure for deriving a laterality quotient (LQ) score makes it possible to score an LQ of 100 in more than one way, by putting anywhere between 10 and 20 check marks in the right column as long as there are none in the left, so that there is no discrimination between degrees of strong right-handedness.
    • There is no real justification for weighting a strong preference as twice the magnitude of a weak preference just because it is recorded as two check marks rather than one.
    • The instructions seem to encourage an either-hand response, for they state the following: "if in any case you are really indifferent put a tick in both columns." (Fazio et al., 2012; Williams, 1991)
References
Key Reference:
Oldfield RC. The assessment and analysis of handedness: the Edinburgh inventory. Neuropsychologia. 1971 Mar;9(1):97-113.
 
Additional References:
Caplan B, Mendoza JE. Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. In: Kreutzer JS, DeLuca J, Caplan B (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. 2011; Springer: New York, NY https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_684.
 
Edlin JM, Leppanen ML, Fain RJ, Hackländer RP, Hanaver-Torrez SD, Lyle KB. On the use (and misuse?) of the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. Brain Cogn. 2015 Mar;94:44-51.
 
Fazio R, Coenen C, Denney RL. The original instructions for the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory are misunderstood by a majority of participants. Laterality. 2012;17(1):70-7.
 
Milenkovic S, Dragovic M. Modification of the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory: a replication study. Laterality. 2013;18(3):340-8.
 
Veale JF. Edinburgh Handedness Inventory - Short Form: a revised version based on confirmatory factor analysis. Laterality. 2014;19(2):164-177.
 
Williams SM. Handedness inventories: Edinburgh versus Annett. Neuropsychology. 1991 Jan;5(1):43-48.
 
Document last updated June 2024
Recommended Instrument for
ME/CFS