Tables are the features of MS Access enabling the collection of data about a specific topic. MS Access table in Datasheet View resembles MS Excel worksheet. This is where we can store the research data directly, or import the research data from the spreadsheets.

The following are the steps in order to create a table. It will start with the opening of the MS Access application.

1. Click on Start, then go to Microsoft Office Access 2003.

2. Inside MS Office Access 2003 click on File and select New.

3. On the selection, choose Blank database..., then type the database name.

4. Choose Tables, then double-click on Create table in Design view.

• A table in Design View will pop up. It includes the Field Name, Data Type, Description and Field Properties.

• Field Name accepts the variable names of the research data. The variable names are the fields in the database. If data transfer will be done from MS Excel spreadsheet into the MS Access database, Field Name will have the column headers of the worksheet.

• Data Type selects the kind of allowable values in the fields. For example, a date cannot be stored in a field with a Text data type.

• Description is optional but recommended. It helps to describe the fields and identify the units of measurement used.

• Field Properties are useful for setting the field format.

The detailed discussion on the data types and field properties are discussed here.

5. Start to create the table by entering the field names.

• For data transfer from spreadsheets, the sequence of fields in the database table must be the same as the sequence of column headers in the worksheet.

A. For each of the field name, set the following:

- data type,

- field properties, and

- description (recommended for the purpose of documentation).

B. Among the field names, choose the primary key. A primary key is the field which uniquely identifies a particular record in a table. It may be a single field or a group of fields. After the primary key selection, click the Primary Key button on the toolbar or click the Primary Key command on the Edit menu.

C. Then, Save. A key symbol appears to the left of the selected field to acknowledge the assignment of the primary key.

- In the example, the table created is for the nhanes database where the nhanes research data in MS spreadsheet can be imported. The primary key selected is rseqn.

6. Right-click the table to select the Datasheet View. After the step, the database is ready for import of data from the MS Excel spreadsheet.