Karen’s research interests span gender, politics, and public policy. Her research training in political science has been strengthened by her experience of undertaking policy-relevant research in a range of disciplines. 

Karen is passionate about undertaking useful and policy-relevant research, completing projects for different government departments and policy audiences (ranging from UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to Department for International Development). 

Most recently, Karen's research has focused on domestic violence and abuse. Projects include systematic reviews on domestic violence and abuse, and collaborative projects to examine the barriers and facilitators to evidence use in the sector. This work builds on Karen's involvement in the research programme that underpinned the What Work’s Centre for Crime Reduction. As part of this, Karen led reviews on domestic violence and diversion of people with mental health issues, informed by her expertise in evidence mapping (describing a research field) and qualitative and quantitative synthesis (drawing together the findings from multiple studies). 

Karen is the founder of the Women’s Writing Collective (an informal and friendly network that promotes and supports women’s writing) and seeks to respond to gender inequalities in higher education through research and action.