Techniques for shear property measurements for composite and isotropic materials were investigated. A new strain gage called the shear gage was conceived, designed, and tested for routine shear characterization on notched shear specimens. The shear gage integrates the shear strain in the entire test section of the losipescu and compact shear specimens. The result was consistent and accurate determination of the shear stress/strain response of materials. Prior knowledge of material properties or shear strain distributions were not required. Deficiencies in the losipescu shear test were automatically compensated when shear gages were placed on the two faces of the specimen. The shear gages were tested on composite and isotropic materials and produced higher accuracy and consistency than could be produced using current technology. Moir© interferometry was used to evaluate the ability of the shear gage to measure the average shear strains. The results from the evaluation program confirmed the attributes of the concept. / Ph. D.