TableBase Main Help Page

What is TableBase?
TableBase is a database comprised of tabular information of a strategic nature. Every record has a unique table title written by RDS staff which aids users in making precise selection of tables that meet their searching needs. Many of the table records also have textual content which supports the data in the tables. The tables provide information such as: market share, market size, capacity, production, imports, exports, sales, product and brand rankings, forecasts, healthcare statistics and demographics. Tables are drawn from the more than 1000 sources that go into the Business & Industry database and from statistical annuals, brokerage reports, trade association reports, and governmental reports. Tables are easy to find in TableBase because the table data is the focus of the record - we index the contents of the table - not the contents of the text that may accompany the table. This results in extremely accurate results when searching for tabular information related to companies, industries, products, markets and demographics.

When to use TableBase?
Use TableBase to find tabular information to access strategically oriented business information in tabular format.

How to use TableBase?
TableBase may be searched by entering words or word phrases in the "Word or Phrase" field. Words or phrases may be joined with Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to develop more complex search statements. For greater precision in the searching process, enter words, terms or names into the "Title" and/or "Company Name" fields when appropriate.

Another feature of TableBase is that only the table title, table text, and descriptor fields are searchable. Text that accompanies the table is not searchable. This helps to assure that the words entered for a search appear in the table and produce relevant result sets. Additionally, you may select terms from the text boxes which include Concept Terms, Marketing Terms, Industry Names, SIC/Product Codes, Document Types, Geographic Codes, and Journal Names. While entries to these fields are not required, the use of these fields will produce more precise retrieval results.