Background information you find helps give you a grasp of your topic.  More in depth resources help you refine and focus your topic

In the links below:

• At the Articles link, try a general database such as Academic Search Premier or Proquest Research Library.  These will have articles on a wide variety of topics.
• For more specific resources, check out the guides in the left hand toolbar  They suggest resources for specific topics such as American History, Philosophy and Theater.  In fact, there's a guide to match every University area of study, and other topics as well.
• At the Books link, try searching your topic by keyword in the Kent Library Catalog.  If you have 3 or more days lead time, also check out the MOBIUS catalog for millions, (as in 6 digits) of books.