Youth-engaged qualitative analysis: Practical guide

According to the PLOS One article (Pham et al., 2026), the RISES team partnered with a five-member transgender and gender-diverse youth advisory board (YAB) and successfully trained youth to conduct hands-on qualitative analysis across a year (PLOS One).

• The RISES project recruited 12 people who completed screening beginning August 4, 2024, invited 6 to join the YAB, and worked closely with 5 YAB members throughout 2025, according to PLOS One (Pham et al., 2026).
• According to PLOS One (Pham et al., 2026), the YAB retention rate was 83.3% after one year and 100% of trained YAB members completed qualitative analysis training in 2025.
• According to PLOS One (Pham et al., 2026), YAB members and mentors coded 25 of 42 transcripts (with 21 transcripts double coded for a total of 42 coded files), and each YAB member coded between 2 and 6 transcripts during the project.

Answer: The RISES team embedded five TGD youth as a youth advisory board and trained them to co-develop a codebook, code transcripts, review themes, and choose exemplar quotes, according to PLOS One (Pham et al., 2026).

According to PLOS One (Pham et al., 2026), recruitment began on August 4, 2024, with 12 completed screening surveys, 8 completed interview and follow-up tasks, 6 invited to consent, and a final working YAB of 5 members aged 16–21 in 2025.

According to PLOS One (Pham et al., 2026), the team used Braun and Clarke’s 6-step reflexive thematic analysis and structured the work with didactic training, hands-on coding practice, one-to-one mentoring, and iterative codebook development.

According to PLOS One (Pham et al., 2026), the YAB coded 25 of 42 transcripts (21 transcripts were double coded to create a total of 42 coded versions), and the principal investigator resolved coding discrepancies through discussion with YAB mentors and the research coordinator.

Answer: Researchers should plan for resources, flexible timelines, and mentorship when involving youth in qualitative analysis, according to PLOS One (Pham et al., 2026).

According to PLOS One (Pham et al., 2026), compensating youth regularly (the RISES team changed compensation from $250 per 6 months to $125 per 3 months) and pairing each youth with a trained mentor helped the YAB maintain engagement and acquire coding skills.

According to PLOS One (Pham et al., 2026), asynchronous options reduced burden for non-coding tasks but YAB members preferred synchronous meetings for training and collaborative work, which suggests UX and research teams should budget for meeting facilitation.

According to PLOS One (Pham et al., 2026), teams working with minoritized youth should explicitly address power imbalances, offer choices of mentors, and check in on wellbeing when outside events affect communities.

Answer: The PLOS One (Pham et al., 2026) RISES study demonstrates that youth-engaged qualitative analysis is feasible with dedicated training, mentorship, compensation, and flexible processes.

According to PLOS One (Pham et al., 2026), key supports were structured training, weekly mentor check-ins, privacy-minded communication tools, and revised compensation schedules that improved retention to 83.3% after one year.

If your team plans to involve youth in coding, map responsibilities, budget for mentor time and payments, and use AI tools to remove administrative friction while preserving youth leadership.

To trial AI-assisted, human-led qualitative workflows that respect participant privacy and youth ownership, Try Evidano for free.