Let $G$ be a second countable, locally compact group which is either compact or abelian, and let $\rho$ be a unitary representation of $G$ on a separable Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}_\rho$. We examine frames of the form $\{ \rho(x) f_j \colon x \in G, j \in I\}$ for families $\{f_j\}_{j \in I}$ in $\mathcal{H}_\rho$. In particular, we give necessary and sufficient conditions for the joint orbit of a family of vectors in $\mathcal{H}_\rho$ to form a continuous frame. We pay special attention to this problem in the setting of shift invariance. In other words, we fix a larger second countable locally compact group $\Gamma \supset G$ containing $G$ as a closed subgroup, and we let $\rho$ be the action of $G$ on $L^2(\Gamma)$ by left translation. In both the compact and the abelian settings, we introduce notions of Zak transforms on $L^2(\Gamma)$ which simplify the analysis of group frames. Meanwhile, we run a parallel program that uses the Zak transform to classify closed subspaces of $L^2(\Gamma)$ which are invariant under left translation by $G$. The two projects give compatible outcomes. This dissertation contains previously published material.

We show that any Borel action on a standard Borel space of a group which is topologically isomorphic to the sum of a countable abelian group with a countable sum of lines and circles induces an orbit equivalence relation which is hypersmooth. We also show that any Borel action of a second countable locally compact abelian group on a standard Borel space induces an orbit equivalence relation which is essentially hyperfinite, generalizing a result of Gao and Jackson for the countable abelian groups.