Search Tips Bertelsmann Foundation

Search tips

Umlauts (ö, ä, ü) are recognized.
Letters are not case-sensitive
Use synonyms and word variations when refreshing your search: CDRom, CD-Rom.
To search for a phrase, enclose it in quotation marks: ""
Use an asterisk (*) anywhere to initiate a fuzzy search
Use a question mark (?) anywhere as a placeholder for any letter
If documents contain several keywords, enter them one after the other, separated by a space
Use the advanced search function to further narrow your results. The basic search at the top right of the web page works the same as the search you conduct in the first line of the advanced search tab (“with all words”).

Tips

Searching for one word Enter all the words, separated by a space, in the basic search or in the first line of the advanced search (“with all words”). The search function automatically links them with the logical operator “and,” meaning that a document from the hit list includes all of the entered words:
Reinhard Mohn = search for documents containing information about Reinhard and about Mohn.

Searching for a phrase Enter all the words in the first line of the advanced search (“with all words”) and enclose them in quotation marks:
“Reinhard Mohn” = search for information about Reinhard Mohn.

Searching for one word only If you want the document you are searching for to contain one of the words you entered, enter the words, separated by spaces, into the second line of the advanced search (“one of the words”). The search function automatically links them with the logical operator “or,” meaning that a document from the hit list includes at least one of the entered words:
Mohn Liz Reinhard = search for information about Liz Mohn and Reinhard Mohn

Using placeholders / searching for variations of a termUse the placeholder * anywhere in a word:
“Foundation*” finds information about “foundations,” as well as “foundation development” and “foundation marketing,” etc. The asterisk stands for any number of characters. Unfinished words must have an asterisk at the end; entering “founda” results in zero hits.

Use the question mark as a placeholder for exactly one letter:
“Schmi?t” finds information on both “Schmid” and “Schmitt.”

Both of these options can be used in a basic search and in all three lines of the advanced search.

Excluding a word For when you do NOT want the term to be included in the search results. To do this use the advanced search and enter the word that should be excluded in the third line, “Without the word”:
If you want information about foundations, but not about community foundations, enter the word “foundation*” in the first line of the advanced search and the word “community” in the third line.

Limiting the search to one categoryIf you want to limit your search to one specific category, use the advanced search and under “Limit Search” choose one of the categories from the Search Only In drop-down menu on the right: News, articles, downloads, publications, or projects. Only one category can be selected.
Enter “Reinhard Mohn” in the first line on the left (“with all words”) and choose under Search Only In: Publications; you will find information on Bertelsmann Stiftung publications written by Reinhard Mohn or in which he is featured.

Glossary

Basic searchFound at the top of the web page; default says “search term.”

Use the basic search...
   if you need very fast results;
   if you have a very specific search term (otherwise the number of hits is too high);
   if you enter no more than two or three search terms to narrow down the search results.
In the basic search you can work only with the logical operator “AND” (see search tips)

Advanced search To the left of the basic search at the top of the web page is the Advanced Search link
Advanced search helps you...
   narrow your search;
   sort the hit list according to certain criteria;
   search for several search terms.