Methodological Progress Note: Group Level Assessment

Like other self-report research methods, GLA relies on stakeholder comfort and willingness to share “public data.”¹ Thus, controversial or sensitive issues may not be brought forth. Since the final themes of GLA are consensus based in terms of what the group of stakeholders finds to be most important, nuances and outlier data can be missed. Successfully conducting a GLA requires a skilled, flexible facilitator who can manage group dynamics while also balancing the structure of the seven-step process, promoting an open and equitable environment, and ensuring the research process remains rigorous. Large groups can be more difficult for facilitators to manage especially when there are power differentials, conflict, and hidden agendas among stakeholders. The large group design, multiple steps of GLA, and participatory atmosphere with music and food can be off-putting for some stakeholders who find the process too noisy, overwhelming, or unstructured. In addition, large groups can be challenging to schedule at times and to find locations that are convenient for stakeholders.

Compared to researcher-driven qualitative methods that can be resource-intensive and are limited by researcher perspective, GLA emphasizes the contextual, “lived” expertise of stakeholders and relies on them in real time to identify and prioritize matters relevant to the participants. The participatory process of GLA promotes stakeholder buy-in and builds on the collective wisdom of the stakeholder group. This is ideally seen in Choe et al.’s study where GLA offered the researchers a structured qualitative methodology that engaged a large number of medical providers and interpreters to identify effective practices that should ultimately enhance communication with families of hospitalized LEP children.

Disclosures

The authors have nothing to disclose.