Obituary searches include a lot of different sources. Each source can reveal different information. Sometimes obituary searches can reveal different causes of death than what appears on the death certificate.
Obituary searches can lead to individuals who maybe alive but hard to find.
Obituary searches include state agencies, VA sources, newspapers and social security records just to mention a few. Other less common sources exist that individuals rarely use or think of. Newspapers are thought to be very good resources. However, most poor immigrants did not have the funds or perhaps even the family to be sure an obituary was placed in the local paper. So alternative resources have to be researched.