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Search Help

The search screen above is designed for single word or multiple word searching. A search will produce an Index Screen that displays the total number of retrieved items and lists each resolution by title. The index screen will allow you to browse the results and to click on individual entries for the resolution text. Below are some helpful searching strategies.

Single Word (type one word, e.g.: Hispanic)

Typing a single word in the search box will return all resolutions that contain that word anywhere in the text. This approach works best for a broad, catch-all search on a topic or person.

Multiple Words (type two or more words with a space between, e.g.: Hispanic ministry)

Use this approach to recall all the resolutions that contain both the words Hispanic and ministry anywhere in a resolution (not necessarily next to each other). You can also type Hispanic or ministry to retrieve an index list of (1) all the resolutions that contain the word Hispanic; together with (2) all the resolutions that contain the word ministry. These very broad strategies locate everything that the Council has said in relation to both the Hispanic population and ministry -- either together or separately. This approach is good if you are unsure of exactly what you are trying to find as it allows you to browse a large list of retrieved items.

Compound Words (type the words inside quotation marks, e.g.: "Hispanic ministry")

Using the quotation marks retrieves strings of words wherever they appear: precisely as you type them, and exactly next to each other. This strategy is excellent for precise searching of specific word phrases. Use it whenever you are looking for terms such as "Standing Committee on World Mission".

Other Searching Strategies:

  • The search tool is not case sensitive (use: Charles or charles; use 1997-A103 or 1997-a103).
  • An asterisk will "truncate" your words in order to pull in more items -- a useful way of bringing up plural forms and unsure spellings (e.g.: missionar* for missionary and missionaries).
  • Boolean searching is available for those who are familiar with it. You may use the conjunctions and, or, and parentheses (), as in (hispanic or minority) and evangelism.

For additional help in using this resource, please contact us.