Group level assessment (GLA) is a qualitative and participatory research-to-action methodology designed to engage a large group of relevant participants throughout the research process. As originally conceived, a single GLA session is led by a trained facilitator who guides the participants through seven structured steps: climate setting, generating, appreciating, reflecting, understanding, selecting, and action. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the 25-year trajectory and uses, contributions as a liberating structure, and adaptations of GLA.
BignallO. N.-R.BignallW. J. R.VaughnL. M.UnakaN. I. (2018). Fathers know best: Inner-city African American fathers’ perceptions regarding their involvement in the pediatric medical home. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 5(3), 617–622. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-017-0407-4
4.
BrownJ.IsaacsD. (2005). The World Cafe: Shaping our futures through conversations that matter. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
5.
ChoeA. Y.UnakaN. I.SchondelmeyerA. C.BignallW. J. R.VilvensH. L.ThomsonJ. E. (2019). Inpatient communication barriers and drivers when caring for limited English proficiency children. Journal of Hospital Medicine, 14(10), E1–E7. https://doi.org/10.12788/jhm.3240
6.
CookT. (2012). Where participatory approaches meet pragmatism in funded (health) research: The challenge of finding meaningful spaces. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 13(1), Art. 18. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-13.1.1783
7.
Díaz-ArévaloJ. M. (2022). In search of the ontology of participation in participatory action research: Orlando Fals-Borda’s Participatory Turn, 1977–1980. Action Research, 20(4), 343–362. https://doi.org/10.1177/14767503221103571
8.
DorhoutL. (2023). Making plan B work: Group level assessment modified for online research. Journal of Participatory Research Methods, 4(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.35844/001c.57699
9.
DueaS. R.ZimmermanE. B.VaughnL. M.DiasS.HarrisJ. (2022). A guide to selecting participatory research methods based on project and partnership goals. Journal of Participatory Research Methods, 3(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.35844/001c.32605
10.
FineM.TorreM. E. (2019). Critical participatory action research: A feminist project for validity and solidarity. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 43(4), 433–444. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684319865255
11.
FreireP. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Penguin Books.
12.
FreireP. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th anniversary ed.). Bloomsbury.
13.
FreireP. (2021). Pedagogy of hope: Reliving pedagogy of the oppressed. Bloomsbury Publishing.
14.
GrahamK. E.SchellingerA. R.VaughnL. M. (2015). Developing strategies for positive change: Transitioning foster youth to adulthood. Children and Youth Services Review, 54, 71–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.04.014
15.
GuyB.FeldmanT.CainC.LeesmanL.HoodC. (2020). Defining and navigating ‘action’ in a participatory action research project. Educational Action Research, 28(1), 142–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2019.1675524
16.
HallL. (2014). ‘With’not ‘about’–emerging paradigms for research in a cross-cultural space. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 37(4), 376–389. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727x.2014.909401
17.
HawleyS.PotterJ. (2022). Can a research space be a third space? Methodology and hierarchies in participatory literacy research. In Unsettling Literacies: Directions for literacy research in precarious times (pp. 19–31). Springer.
18.
JacquezF.VaughnL.DetersA.WellsJ.MaynardK. (2020). Creating a culture of youth as co-researchers: The kickoff of a year-long stem pipeline program. Journal of STEM Outreach, 3(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.15695/jstem/v3i1.02
JenkinsA. M.WeberD. E.ArfaaJ. J. E.ArkenA.ClarkD. L.DobbsE.LahbabiB.MyersK.TuJ.Clarke‐MyersK. (2023). Using participatory research to identify actionable facilitators and barriers to effective inpatient interdisciplinary communication. Journal of Hospital Medicine, 18(2), 130–138. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhm.13013
21.
KendallE.SunderlandN.BarnettL.NalderG.MatthewsC. (2011). Beyond the rhetoric of participatory research in indigenous communities: Advances in Australia over the last decade. Qualitative Health Research, 21(12), 1719–1728. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732311418124
22.
KimballL. (2012). Liberating structures: A new pattern language for engagement. Systems Thinker, 23(1), 2–6.
LipmanowiczH.McCandlessK. (2013). The surprising power of liberating structures: Simple rules to unleash a culture of innovation. Liberating Structures Press Seattle, WA.
25.
LipmanowiczH.SinghalA.McCandlessK.WangH. (2015). Liberating structures: Engaging everyone to build a good life together. In Communication and“ the good life” (International Communication Association Theme Book Series, Vol. 2, pp. 233–246). Peter Lang.
26.
LöhrK.WeinhardtM.SieberS. (2020). The “World Café” as a participatory method for collecting qualitative data. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, Article 1609406920916976. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920916976
27.
MagnussonM.VaughnL. M.WretlindK.ForslundH. B.BergC. (2022). Facilitating health promoting ideas and actions: Participatory research in an underserved Swedish residential area. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12431-y
28.
MaxwellJ. A. (2012). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. Sage publications.
29.
MazzolaA.VaughnL. M.ChelvakumarG.ConardL. A. E.FortenberryD. J.VossR. V.LipsteinE. A. (2023). Decision support needs for transgender and gender-diverse youth and families: A patient-centered needs assessment. Journal of Adolescent Health, 72(3), 452–459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.10.022
MehariK. R.RodgersC. R.BlantonM. A.TurnerL. A. (2021). Evaluation of a police training on de-escalation with trauma-exposed youth. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 66, Article 100491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2021.100491
32.
MertensD. M. (2017). Transformative research: Personal and societal. International Journal for Transformative Research, 4(1), 18–24. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijtr-2017-0001
33.
Nguyen-TruongC. K.LeungJ.MickyK. (2020). Development of a culturally specific leadership curriculum through community-based participatory research and popular education. Asian/Pacific Island Nursing Journal, 5(2), 73–88. https://doi.org/10.31372/20200502.1086
34.
ParkerA.TritterJ. (2006). Focus group method and methodology: Current practice and recent debate. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 29(1), 23–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/01406720500537304
35.
PeraltaK. J. (2017). Toward a deeper appreciation of participatory epistemology in community-based participatory research. PRISM: A Journal of Regional Engagement, 6(1), 4. https://encompass.eku.edu/prism/vol6/iss1/4
36.
Raider-RothM.Rector-ArandaA.KaiserT.LipinskyL.WeikelA.WolkenfeldS.ZaidenbergL. (2019). Shared power, risk-taking, and innovation: Participatory action research in Jewish education. Journal of Jewish Education, 85(2), 187–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/15244113.2019.1599234
RouraM. (2021). The social ecology of power in participatory health research. Qualitative Health Research, 31(4), 778–788. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732320979187
39.
RumseyM.StowersP.SamH.NeillA.RodriguesN.BrooksF.DalyJ. (2022). Development of PARcific approach: Participatory action research methodology for collectivist health research. Qualitative Health Research, 32(8–9), 1297–1314. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323221092350
40.
SchondelmeyerA. C.JenkinsA. M.AllisonB.TimmonsK. M.LoechtenfeldtA. M.Pope-SmythS. T.VaughnL. M. (2019). Factors influencing use of continuous physiologic monitors for hospitalized pediatric patients. Hospital Pediatrics, 9(6), 423–428. https://doi.org/10.1542/hpeds.2019-0007
41.
SojaE. (1996). Thirdspace: Journeys to Los Angeles and other real-and-imagined-spaces. Blackwell.
42.
TorbertW. R. (1978). Educating toward shared purpose, self-direction and quality work: The theory and practice of liberating structure. The Journal of Higher Education, 49(2), 109–135. https://doi.org/10.2307/1979278
43.
VaughnL.DeJonckheereM. (2019). Methodological progress note: Group level assessment. Journal of Hospital Medicine, 14(10), 627–629. https://doi.org/10.12788/jhm.3289
44.
VaughnL. M.JacquezF. (2020). Participatory research methods–Choice points in the research process. Journal of Participatory Research Methods, 1(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.35844/001c.13244
45.
VaughnL. M.JacquezF.DetersA.BoardsA. (2020). Group-level assessment (GLA) as a methodological tool to facilitate science education. Research in Science Education, 52, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-020-09960-8
46.
VaughnL. M.JacquezF.ZhaoJ.LangM. (2011). Partnering with students to explore the health needs of an ethnically diverse, low-resource school: An innovative large group assessment approach. Family & Community Health, 34(1), 72–84. https://doi.org/10.1097/FCH.0b013e3181fded12
47.
VaughnL. M.LohmuellerM. (1998). Using the group level assessment in a support group setting. Organization Development Journal, 16(1), 99.
48.
VaughnL. M.LohmuellerM. (2014). Calling all stakeholders: Group-level assessment (GLA)—A qualitative and participatory method for large groups. Evaluation Review, 38(4), 336–355. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X14544903
49.
VaughnL. M.WhetstoneC.BoardsA.BuschM. D.MagnussonM.MäättäS. (2018). Partnering with insiders: A review of peer models across community‐engaged research, education and social care. Health & Social Care in the Community, 26(6), 769–786. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12562
50.
VilvensH. L.FrameD. L.OwenP. C. (2021). Promoting the inclusion of mindfulness and contemplative practices in the college classroom. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 7(2), 148–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/2373379920925849
51.
WalkerM.BoniA.Martinez-VargasC.CinM. (2022). An epistemological break: Redefining participatory research in capabilitarian scholarship. Journal of Human Development & Capabilities, 23(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/19452829.2022.2019987
52.
WeisbordM.JanoffS. (2010). Future search: Getting the whole system in the room for vision, commitment, and action. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
53.
WestR.StewartL.FosterK.UsherK. (2012). Through a critical lens: Indigenist research and the Dadirri method. Qualitative Health Research, 22(11), 1582–1590. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732312457596
54.
Williams-AryaP.VaughnL. M.NideyN.SawyerM.PorterK.FroehlichT. E. (2021). Striving for structure and stability in Cincinnati’s family homeless shelters: A community-based participatory research approach. Family & Community Health, 44(4), 282–291. https://doi.org/10.1097/FCH.0000000000000305
