QUICK GUIDE 3 - MAIN STEPS QUICK GUIDE 3 - MAIN STEPS Sample research questions For qualitative data collection: For quantitative data collection: • • How many stateless people are in the country? • How many stateless people in the country are children (e.g., under the age of 18 years)? • What are the legislative, procedural and practical barriers to nationality for members of Group X? What are the economic, social and political impacts on stateless persons from Group Y as compared with nationals living in the same area? • What is the effectiveness of mechanisms to resolve statelessness in country Z? • Do refugees/irregular migrants from Group K living in a protracted situation in Country J face any risks of statelessness? • To what extent are stateless people in paid employment? • On average, how long have stateless people lived in this country? • What is the average stateless household food security and/or ownership of assets compared to a household of citizens? 1 • How many stateless people have accessed a statelessness determination procedure (if one exists)? • How many formerly stateless people have acquired the nationality in the last 5 years? 1 Measuring income level is prone to underreporting. Measuring food security and ownership of assets is an alternative but also challenging and data collection on these questions would have to be thoroughly prepared, tested and reviewed. 22 U N H C R > R E S E A R C H I N G S TAT E L E S S N E S S - Q U I C K G U I D E S Choose qualitative/quantitative data collection method(s) Qualitative data collection methods There are many types of qualitative data collection methods. The most common methods for collecting qualitative data that are relevant to statelessness are: 1. Key informant interviews Key informants are an important starting point for finding out more about a situation of statelessness or about the research subjects. Key informants, typically, are those who can provide an accurate and important perspective on the setting and context. They can include persons such as community and religious leaders, relevant government officials or NGO workers working with or living close to the affected individuals and communities. Information provided by key informants can be used to refine thematic areas and questions that are used in focus group discussions or semi-structured interviews with affected communities. As such, interviews with key informants are a useful method to deploy early in the course of gathering primary qualitative data. 2. Focus group discussions Focus group discussions are an effective method to gather a range of perspectives that exist within a community or subgroup. Because they typically seek to illuminate group opinion, they are useful when needing to explore and analyze group responses to a topic of common concern (such as a shared experience of being stateless or at risk of statelessness). Meeting with groups of affected individuals is useful for the efficient collection of numerous views simultaneously, as well as to observe the exchanges between and among different participants. The strength of the focus group discussion relies on allowing participants to agree or disagree with each other so that it provides an insight into how the group thinks about an issue, about the range of ideas and opinions, and the variations that exist within a community in terms of beliefs, experiences and practices. U N H C R > R E S E A R C H I N G S TAT E L E S S N E S S - Q U I C K G U I D E S 23