Research and Development Expense
About the data
The aggregate costs incurred (1) in a planned search or critical investigation aimed at discovery of new knowledge with the hope that such knowledge will be useful in developing a new product or service, a new process or technique, or in bringing about a significant improvement to an existing product or process; or (2) to translate research findings or other knowledge into a plan or design for a new product or process or for a significant improvement to an existing product or process whether intended for sale or the entity's use, during the reporting period charged to research and development projects, including the costs of developing computer software up to the point in time of achieving technological feasibility, and costs allocated in accounting for a business combination to in-process projects deemed to have no alternative future use.
Methodology
Companies should report their financial performance in their annual financial reports, and these are the best places to find this information.
For companies that file with the SEC, this information can be found within their "Form 10-K" filings. You can often find these documents by searching for "Company 10-k", or they can be found through the SEC's EDGAR search.