Human Rights And Statelessness I N P E N I N S U L AR M AL AYS I A As part of an ethical research practice, we assured the participants that every effort would be made to preserve their anonymity and confidentiality and no data provided could be traced back to them. We also ensured that the participants fully understood the purpose of the research and their rights as participants. In cases where representatives of government agencies were interviewed, although the name of the agency or ministry would be revealed in this report, specific individuals would not be identified in any manner. Participant recruitment Participants were recruited through: 1. CSOs and related networks 2. Researcher networks – the team has extensive professional networks including members of vulnerable populations and civil society organisations Information about the study and a call for volunteer participants (in the form of WhatsApp messages, email, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) was disseminated through these networks. These networks then circulated the message or emails to the relevant contacts. The voluntariness of participation was emphasised in the message or email and they were reminded that participation was not mandatory. The text also stated that refusal to participate or a decision to withdraw will not result in any penalties or loss of benefits to which the participant was otherwise entitled. When a participant volunteered, their contact information was shared with the research team. The research team then contacted the volunteer participants through text message, email, or phone call, and they were taken through the relevant information before proceeding to informed consent. A ‘first interviewee’ from each of the eight stateless populations was identified through our existing contacts with organisations that interface with individuals from these categories. From them, sampling was done by snowballing, a recruitment technique where participants are asked to assist researchers in identifying other potential participants from the targeted stateless populations. 16