Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS)

Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) is a unique, complex data resource popular with academia but also utilized in government agencies, nonprofits, and corporations. It contains financial and accounting related data and tools but also includes limited data from some other subject areas like healthcare and marketing. WRDS provides the interface to access datasets with limited datasets included and then individual datasets may also be purchased. WRDS makes accessing and using data easier for users, but it also depends on users having enough experience in the field to be familiar with the various vendors and data coverage. Within academia, faculty and graduate students may have an easier time even though undergraduates are permitted access. While it is complicated, it does ease some of the burdens of working with data. Because it is focused on data, it allows users to find and use data with less limitations that users may encounter with regular business databases.