route, the setting for the interview, and key information and quotes from the interview. The duration of interviews was typically one and a half to two hours. Interpretation was provided where necessary. Three or four pilot interviews were initially carried out and a debriefing meeting among the project team was held afterwards to discuss emerging themes and any changes needed to the semi-structured interview format. Anonymity and confidentiality was guaranteed to enable participants to talk freely and candidly about their experiences. Therefore throughout this report pseudonyms have been used to portray participants’ stories. Case file access and reviews The interviews were complemented by an examination of the participants’ immigration case files to ensure the accuracy of the data recorded as well as gain additional insights into the UK Border Agency’s engagement with participants. The detailed review of case files was considered important given the inherent limitations on the extent of information it is feasible to obtain from a one and a half hour interview. Moreover, wherever possible efforts were made to obtain copies of the participant’s papers in advance of the interview in order to best target questioning. Paper files were obtained through subject access requests (SARs) under the Data Protection Act 1998 as well as in some cases directly from the UK Border Agency. In addition, relevant information on each participant was reviewed on the UK Border Agency’s Case Information Database.25 For various reasons, including delay or lack of consent, it was not possible to obtain the paper files of all the participants interviewed. Those case studies are referenced accordingly in footnotes. 1.3.4 UK Border Agency co-operation In parallel with this, the UK Border Agency kindly agreed that the researchers could access electronic databases and files. The researchers received security clearance for this purpose. In addition, a series of semi-structured interviews were held with relevant UK Border Agency officials in order to better understand the issues raised, as well as the application of relevant law and policy concerning stateless persons. These interviews were not transcribed but were held “on record” with the understanding that information obtained should be treated as anecdotal and not attributed directly to individuals. Information obtained from these interviews, though not constituting empirical evidence, nonetheless proved very valuable in filling information gaps and enabling the researchers to test themes emerging from initial data analysis. 1.3.5 Legal research The final part of the methodology was to undertake extensive legal research, focused initially on identifying the UK’s obligations in international law towards stateless persons. The research also examined UK law and policy relating to stateless persons and evaluated the extent to which the UK’s international legal obligations were being met. This analysis was informed by the evidence obtained in the quantitative and qualitative work. It was hoped that, taken together, these different strands of the research would form a strong foundation for the evaluation and for any resulting recommendations. 25 20 Hereafter referred to as “CID”. Mapping statelessness