Google Scholar is not the first place to look for articles because it does not necessarily contain scholarly articles. Once you have found a citation from a peer-reviewed journal in the databases, Google Scholar can be helpful if you need to find the full-text.
Background information is not peer-reviewed, however it does give you greater insight into your topic and can be cited in addition to your peer-reviewed sources, when appropriate.
Remember: Basic facts do not need to be cited. Example: World War II ended in 1945.
These are some reference databases that provide background information:
Best multidisciplinary database for a broad range of subject areas and contains citations/full-text both popular and scholarly publications.