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This paper reports the results of a project in which R&D data drawn from National Science Foundation and Census Bureau studies were substituted in several financial models for R&D data drawn from the 1975–1982 Compustat tapes. The result using the Compustat data did not differ significantly from that based on the NSF/Census data in the aggregate, but significant differences were observed for certain industries and certain years. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the financial models and determinants of corporate R&D expenditures using the different databases, and to suggest further questions for research. Financial support was provided by the Center for Innovation Management Studies at Lehigh University and the National Science Foundation.