Information on the victims of violent death is fragmented because few investigators have studied more than one mode of violent death, and because few studies have examined data from both the individual and environmental levels of analysis. An analysis of the research models which have been used to study violent death reveals inherent limitations. Specifically, these approaches are deficient in terms of their ability to reflect interactions between environmental and personal factors. Research should be conducted in this area using an investigative model which considers relationships between violent death rates and environmental factors and data related to individual cases of violent death across all three categories of violent death. Researchers using this approach should include complex taxonomies of the environment based on consensus data, sophisticated multivariate area analysis techniques, and individual variables with heuristic value in understanding the phenomena or identifying prevention strategies. About 130 references and 4 reference notes are included. (Author abstract modified)