1) The most widely available but not necessarily most reliable source of death data is the death certificates, held in computerised form in the office of births and deaths. Three major problems arise when accessing these data: 1) not all factors contributing to the death would be registered. 2) multiple cause of death has only been available in the certificates since 1997, so comparisons overtime require complex interpretation. 3) Different countries record differently so international comparisons must be viewed with caution.

2) The morgue or the coroner’s reports will give a detailed description of those deaths requiring autopsy (e.g. violent or suspicious deaths where there was no doctor signing the death certificate). This excludes the majority of deaths but is an accurate source for particular cases.

3)cancer registers link pathology with death records, so they will have additional information on type, stage and size of tumours before the death.

4) If you are investigating motor-vehicle related deaths, the Road and Traffic Authority will have detailed accounts of the circumstances of the accident and alcohol, drug, weather, and other contributing factors.