The growing emphasis on studying equity, diversity, and inclusion within software engineering has amplified the need to explore hidden populations within this field. Exploring hidden populations becomes important to obtain invaluable insights into the experiences, challenges, and perspectives of underrepresented groups in software engineering and, therefore, devise strategies to make the software industry more diverse. However, studying these hidden populations presents multifaceted challenges, including the complexities associated with identifying and engaging participants due to their marginalized status. In this paper, we discuss our experiences and lessons learned while conducting multiple studies involving hidden populations in software engineering. We emphasize the importance of recognizing and addressing these challenges within the software engineering research community to foster a more inclusive and comprehensive understanding of diverse populations of software professionals.

翻译：对软件工程中公平性、多样性与包容性研究的日益关注，凸显了探索该领域内隐蔽群体的必要性。研究隐蔽群体对于获取软件工程中代表性不足群体的经历、挑战与视角的宝贵见解至关重要，并由此制定策略以推动软件行业更加多元化。然而，研究这些隐蔽群体面临多重挑战，包括因其边缘化地位而识别和接触参与者的复杂性。本文探讨了我们在开展多项涉及软件工程隐蔽群体研究中的经验与教训。我们强调，在软件工程研究社群中认知并应对这些挑战具有重要意义，以促进对多元软件从业者群体形成更具包容性与全面性的理解。