Stronger Themes: Youth-engaged Qualitative Analysis

According to the PLOS ONE article published July 30, 2026, the RISES Project trained a five-member transgender and gender-diverse youth advisory board to participate in qualitative analysis and achieved sustained participation and concrete coding output. The PLOS ONE authors report an 83.3% retention rate after one year and that the trained coders completed 25 of 42 transcripts during the study.

• 5 TGD youth formed the youth advisory board; recruitment began on 08/04/2024 and 12 people completed the screening survey in that phase.
• In 2025, the qualitative study interviewed 21 TGD youth aged 12–22 to explore barriers and promoters of research participation, as reported in PLOS ONE on July 30, 2026.
• YAB members coded between 2 and 6 transcripts each and together contributed to coding 25 out of 42 transcripts, with 21 transcripts double coded (42 code passes total), according to the PLOS ONE report.
• The project paid YAB members $125 every 3 months and $10 per transcript during the coding period, a compensation change that followed participant feedback in 2025.

The RISES Project embedded youth-engaged qualitative analysis by recruiting and training a five-person TGD youth advisory board that participated in all stages of the qualitative study, according to the PLOS ONE article published July 30, 2026.

The PLOS ONE team recruited YAB members beginning on 08/04/2024, screened 12 respondents, interviewed 8 candidates, invited 6 to consent, and maintained active participation from 5 members; one member left after one month for scheduling reasons.

The RISES team provided structured training before analysis: NIH Good Clinical Practice training plus three 45-minute didactic sessions and hands-on coding practice using practice transcripts, all documented in the PLOS ONE methods section.

YAB members and mentors applied Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis approach, independently coded overlapping transcripts to build a codebook, and performed double-coding for rigor; PLOS ONE reports the YAB/mentor pairs coded 25 of 42 transcripts and the research team resolved discrepancies by discussion.

The direct implication is that properly supported youth advisory boards can contribute valid qualitative coding and interpretation, according to the PLOS ONE report published July 30, 2026.

Research teams should plan for resources: the PLOS ONE authors note that monetary compensation and dedicated mentorship time were decisive; the team moved from $250 per 6 months to $125 per 3 months after feedback, increasing perceived fairness and retention.

Teams running youth-engaged qualitative analysis should build layered support: the RISES workflow combined didactic training, mentor pairing, weekly check-ins, and a research coordinator liaison to balance burden and learning.

The PLOS ONE article published July 30, 2026 demonstrates that youth-engaged qualitative analysis with a five-person TGD youth advisory board is practical when teams invest in training, mentorship, clear responsibilities, and compensation.

The PLOS ONE authors observed an 83.3% retention rate after one year and documented that YAB members coded 25 of 42 transcripts with mentor support, numbers that other teams can use to plan resources and timelines.

If your research team or UX group plans to implement youth-engaged qualitative analysis, combine structured mentorship with tools that document codebooks, track double-coding, and export reproducible theme tables.

To experiment with an AI-assisted, secure workflow that supports collaborative codebooks and human-in-the-loop thematic synthesis, Try Evidano for free.