CONTENT AND ACCESS
Accessibility is the most significant difference among all of the research services. A user’s ease of access to content and the Web site’s “feel” while performing search queries are important considerations to users, which is why potential subscribers should take advantage of the vendors’ free trial offers.

Each research service has a main menu separating the primary legal sources from the secondary sources. Each product looks and works differently. For example, the Boolean connectors used for performing a keyword search vary by service.

Listed below are the major differences in editorial content, search method capability, platform layout and appearance:

BNA’s Tax and Accounting Center includes its Tax Management Portfolios as well as the topical Tax Practice Series and the Daily Tax Report newsletter. Similar to its paper publication, BNA’s electronic resource also is topically designed. From a keyword search, which is available from every screen, and citation search, the results screen displays the search query as well as two ways to review results. Users have the option of sorting search results by relevance or grouped in the order of the Portfolio number or Tax Practice chapter number. BNA also uses a “1” and “2” system to signal that subheadings are viewable within a specific topic. In addition, BNA provides the option to open categories by level and to view documents in split or full screen. The split-screen display accommodates browsing through the publication since a user can move around the table of contents of the publication being viewed.

CCH products include the Standard Federal Tax Reporter, CCH Research Consultant, U.S. Master Tax Guide and CCH Citator in addition to numerous journals and newsletters. This research resource differs significantly in its appearance and layout from other services. It organizes each of its major databases (for example, Federal Tax, State Tax, Pension and Payroll, Sales/Property Tax) using folder tabs. It uses a “Search Tools” button so users can customize keyword searches (for example, search methods, number of documents retrieved and how results will be listed). A unique feature is its thesaurus, which runs in the background on every keyword search; all the other services require a user to take extra steps to select the synonyms for the keywords being used in a search.