Identifying the Stateless in the United Kingdom • 449 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 d’Alessandra and others (n 31) 97–98. Regarding communication, five of the research participants did not wish to be contacted after the interviews, whereas the others agreed to be contacted within a maximum period of six months, in case further clarification about their cases was needed. Stateless persons 1 and 8 expressly wished to remain in contact and update me about their cases. The research was undertaken without approval or oversight by an ethics committee or other body as such a system is not available in German academic institutions in the field of law. Upon completion of the research, I collaborated with UNHCR London, NGOs, and refugee lawyers to disseminate the findings and organized trainings and lectures that were open to the public. On the professional responsibility of social researchers to inform society about irregular migration, see Düvell (n 36) 15. Mary Bosworth and others, ‘Doing Prison Research: Views from Inside’ (2005) 11 Qualitative Inquiry 1. d’Alessandra and others (n 31) 29. ibid 31. van Liempt and Bilger (n 30) 273, 276. This is due to the small number of statelessness applicants, their insecure immigration status which deters them from participating in research, as well as confidentiality issues. Moreover, working with illegal migrants requires particular care due to the risk of harming their residence in the country. ibid 275. These files included UK government documents, judicial decisions, and correspondence with the representing solicitors. Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/ijrl/article/32/3/440/6065591 by guest on 04 July 2025 of informed consent, participants were fully informed of the scope and aim of the research,41 the potential risks and benefits of participating, and the voluntary character of their participation.42 I introduced myself and my affiliation, and provided the research participants with my contact details.43 I also managed the interviewees’ expectations by stressing that I was unable to provide them with legal advice: the purpose of the interviews was for academic research, to raise awareness of statelessness, and to advocate on behalf of stateless persons generally.44 This was of particular relevance for my meetings with people in detention.45 I explained that I could provide referrals to legal aid lawyers if the participants needed legal representation, or, if other needs, such as emotional needs or assistance with tracing family members, arose, I had information on the relevant services that could be of support and would make the necessary referrals, including to community visitor groups and the Red Cross.46 I also clarified that such assistance was not dependent on the interviewee’s participation in the research.47 Not least, to ensure confidentiality, all data were anonymised.48 Since stateless persons are a difficult-to-access population,49 the pool was relatively small and I did not seek to obtain a representative sample of interviewees. The interviews nevertheless helped to provide insights about the implementation of law and policies. Moreover, I balanced and confirmed the interviewees’ assertions with the country of origin information, immigration law literature, and immigration files.50 Six interviewees gave consent to discuss their cases with their representing solicitors. My experience as a former immigration solicitor helped to build connections, trust, and dialogue with both lawyers and stateless persons. It also helped me to check the