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Conducting a Literature Review (PGBS)

Resources in this guide are intended to assist Graziadio Business School students in constructing a review of the literature.

Why Look for Books?

Unlike articles that tend to provide very specific information on a topic, books generally provide a more comprehensive level of detail on a topic. This page provides strategies for searching the Pepperdine Libraries catalog for books.

Tips for Finding Books

When searching for books, there are a couple good strategies to start with:

1. If you already have a relevant book or article in hand, use its bibliography to help find other sources;

2. Use the "More like this" link to find other books within your subject area.

3. Think of synonyms or variations on spelling and try and OR search:

  • theater OR theatre
  • teenager OR adolescents

For some literary research it's important to track a particular author whose name may have varied over the course of his/her lifetime or publication history. In these cases, pay attention to cross-references in the catalog when you do an Author or Subject search for a name. Keep all name variants in mind when you search other catalogs and databases to ensure that you are finding all relevant resources.

Books Through Pepperdine

All Pepperdine Distance Learners will request their books, even those held at Pepperdine's libraries, using Interlibrary Loan. For more about this process, please refer to our Distance Learners webpage. Below are some methods to apply when looking for books in Pepperdine Libraries' catalog. You can limit your search results to eBooks which can be read online.