Use articles for current or detailed information, or if you cannot find any books on your topic. Not for broad overview of a topic. Articles from general (as opposed to scholarly) periodicals won't have bibliographies referring you to other related sources or acknowledging the sources the author used.
Try the following databases to find articles in magazines, journals, and newspapers as well as in online reference books. Databases may also provide other resources, such as TV/radio transcripts, video/audio files, podcasts, primary documents
These general databases cover a wide range of topics, including controversial issues and current events: