April 3, 2019

Update [2.7.2022]: Drexel University no longer provides access to the National Establishment Time Series.

The Drexel University Libraries and the Drexel Urban Health Collaborative have partnered to provide licensed access to the National Establishment Time Series (NETS) data to all Drexel University faculty, staff and students.

NETS data includes information on more than 58 million U.S. business establishments from 1990 to 2014, including information like business name, address and contact information, headquarters linkages, years active, industry classifications (SIC), type of establishment, employment at location and job growth, estimate annual sales, D&B credit ratings and more.

These longitudinal datasets provide an unprecedented opportunity to characterize changing neighborhood and business environments and can assist in assessing how differential access to resources impacts population health.

The Retail Environment and Cardiovascular Disease (RECVD) study, led by Gina Lovasi, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor of Urban Health and Co-Director of the Urban Health Collaborative, Dornsife School of Public Health, recently enhanced the NETS datasets by incorporating Census Tract and ZCTA (Zip Code Tabulation Area) mapping, recategorization of business/industry classifications, Nielsen/TDLinx marketing data, and CrimeRisk data (from ESRI). Dr. Lovasi and her team are using the NETS data for longitudinal information on exercise places, walkable neighborhoods, food environments and social destinations.

Drexel Librarians Kathleen Turner and Phebe Dickson worked with Dr. Lovasi and the RECVD staff to make these data accessible to the entire Drexel University community to increase cross-disciplinary research that furthers population health research. Dr. Lovasi’s team and Drexel University Libraries have created two webpages, including a library resource guide, to help Drexel faculty, students and staff access and navigate the NETS datasets.   

Current Drexel University students, faculty, and staff may request access to NETS datasets by verifying their Drexel affiliation and submitting the Data Access Request Form.

For more information about accessing the NETS datasets, contact Jody Bayer, Research Coordinator, Urban Health Collaborative at fjb47@drexel.edu, or Kathleen Turner, Liaison Librarian, Drexel University Libraries, at khturner@drexel.edu.