function groups_get_groups( $args = '' ) {

	$defaults = array(
		'type'               => false,          // Active, newest, alphabetical, random, popular.
		'order'              => 'DESC',         // 'ASC' or 'DESC'
		'orderby'            => 'date_created', // date_created, last_activity, total_member_count, name, random, meta_id.
		'user_id'            => false,          // Pass a user_id to limit to only groups that this user is a member of.
		'include'            => false,          // Only include these specific groups (group_ids).
		'exclude'            => false,          // Do not include these specific groups (group_ids).
		'parent_id'          => null,           // Get groups that are children of the specified group(s).
		'slug'               => array(),        // Find a group or groups by slug.
		'search_terms'       => false,          // Limit to groups that match these search terms.
		'search_columns'     => array(),        // Select which columns to search.
		'group_type'         => '',             // Array or comma-separated list of group types to limit results to.
		'group_type__in'     => '',             // Array or comma-separated list of group types to limit results to.
		'group_type__not_in' => '',             // Array or comma-separated list of group types that will be excluded from results.
		'meta_query'         => false,          // Filter by groupmeta. See WP_Meta_Query for syntax.
		'show_hidden'        => false,          // Show hidden groups to non-admins.
		'status'             => array(),        // Array or comma-separated list of group statuses to limit results to.
		'per_page'           => 20,             // The number of results to return per page.
		'page'               => 1,              // The page to return if limiting per page.
		'update_meta_cache'  => true,           // Pre-fetch groupmeta for queried groups.
		'update_admin_cache' => false,
		'fields'             => 'all',          // Return BP_Groups_Group objects or a list of ids.
	);

	$r = bp_parse_args( $args, $defaults, 'groups_get_groups' );

	$groups = BP_Groups_Group::get( array(
		'type'               => $r['type'],
		'user_id'            => $r['user_id'],
		'include'            => $r['include'],
		'exclude'            => $r['exclude'],
		'slug'               => $r['slug'],
		'parent_id'          => $r['parent_id'],
		'search_terms'       => $r['search_terms'],
		'search_columns'     => $r['search_columns'],
		'group_type'         => $r['group_type'],
		'group_type__in'     => $r['group_type__in'],
		'group_type__not_in' => $r['group_type__not_in'],
		'meta_query'         => $r['meta_query'],
		'show_hidden'        => $r['show_hidden'],
		'status'             => $r['status'],
		'per_page'           => $r['per_page'],
		'page'               => $r['page'],
		'update_meta_cache'  => $r['update_meta_cache'],
		'update_admin_cache' => $r['update_admin_cache'],
		'order'              => $r['order'],
		'orderby'            => $r['orderby'],
		'fields'             => $r['fields'],
	) );

	/**
	 * Filters the collection of groups based on parsed parameters.
	 *
	 * @since 1.2.0
	 *
	 * @param BP_Groups_Group $groups Object of found groups based on parameters.
	 *                                Passed by reference.
	 * @param array           $r      Array of parsed arguments used for group query.
	 *                                Passed by reference.
	 */
	return apply_filters_ref_array( 'groups_get_groups', array( &$groups, &$r ) );
}