Teaching paper: Contextual Identifiability Assessment Form for Small and Vulnerable Communities
Author: Dr. Anna Neya Kazanskaia
Publisher: NEYA Global Publishing
Journal: NEYA Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies
Publication Type: Teaching Paper
Series: Safeguarding Tools for Preventing Research Harm
Year: 2026
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5669-1676
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-cgsnf-tp-04
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Abstract
Teaching Paper: Contextual Identifiability Assessment Form for Small and Vulnerable Communities provides a practical safeguarding tool for assessing whether individuals, organisations, or communities may remain identifiable even when names and direct identifiers are removed. It is designed for research involving small communities, vulnerable groups, non-profit field sites, faith-based institutions, service organisations, and locally recognisable social contexts.
The form addresses a key limitation of standard anonymisation practices: removing names may not be sufficient when location, organisational role, participant characteristics, programme details, relational context, or publication framing make the community or participants recognisable. This teaching paper helps researchers, supervisors, ethics reviewers, and host organisations assess contextual identifiability before publication, dissemination, or public presentation.
It supports stronger protection for vulnerable communities by shifting ethical review from formal anonymisation toward practical recognition risk, safeguarding responsibility, and accountable representation.
About This Teaching Paper
This teaching paper forms part of the Safeguarding Tools for Preventing Research Harm series. It is intended to help researchers and host organisations review whether a research output may expose individuals, groups, or institutions through contextual details, especially in small, sensitive, or socially bounded communities where indirect identification is possible.
This Tool Supports
- assessing whether anonymised data may still be recognisable
- identifying contextual clues that expose people or organisations
- reviewing location, role, demographic, and programme-based identifiers
- checking whether small community size increases recognition risk
- evaluating whether publication framing intensifies identifiability
- strengthening safeguarding review before dissemination
Intended Users
This teaching paper is intended for researchers, supervisors, ethics committees, journal editors, safeguarding officers, non-profit leaders, programme directors, and host organisations working with small, vulnerable, or contextually identifiable communities
Citation
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2026). Teaching Paper: Contextual Identifiability Assessment Form for Small and Vulnerable Communities. NEYA Global Journal of Non-Profit Studies. NEYA Global Publishing. https://doi.org/10.64357/neya-gjnps-cgsnf-tp-04
Institutional Use Notice
This teaching paper forms part of the NEYA Global knowledge architecture. Institutional, organisational, professional, training, consulting, curriculum, programme design, research supervision, safeguarding review, or implementation use requires an active license from NEYA Global
