Bio
Wanting to work with and understand people has been a recurring theme in Karin’s life and has accounted for her qualifications in psychology and human resources management as well as the seven years she was a telephone counsellor with Youthline.
She has specialised in qualitative market research since 1994, after several years of business management. As a Senior Qualitative Director in the qualitative division of TNS (previously CM Research and NFO), one of the largest custom market research companies in New Zealand, she designed and led projects in a wide range of industries and for many well-known companies. She has specialised in pharmaceuticals & healthcare, travel & tourism, IT & telecommunications, financial services and building/construction – but there are few areas she has not explored in her career.
Since 2007 she has focused full-time on Curran Research Associates (CRA). In addition to traditional face-to-face methodologies, she is a leader in online qualitative research, especially discussion boards. A successful relaunch of CRA showcased the discussion board approach in a presentation to the 2007 Market Research Society of New Zealand conference, which won Best Paper. She prefers HatchTank and VisionsLive, but is familiar with and happy to use other online research platforms.
Although Karin is one of the most experienced online qualitative bulletin board moderators in the Asia Pacific region, she continues to employ face-to-face methods when appropriate. With moderation of thousands of focus groups and depth interviews, she has a deep practical understanding of the benefits and limitations of each approach. Online bulletin boards can be used as a standalone method or to complement a more traditional face-to-face approach to create an iterative or more robust outcome. She understands and delivers to the need that research be tailored to the individual project, client and target market.
Memberships and affiliations
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Curran Research Associates is a corporate member and Karin is a Fellow of the Research Association New Zealand (formerly the Market Research Society of New Zealand). Members are bound to the Code of Practice, which helps to ensure that research buyers and the public can be confident that research is professional and performed to accepted criteria. RANZ Code of Practice.
Karin served on the 2014 Transitional Board of RANZ after 5 years on the MRSNZ committee, the last as Vice President. She was elected to a second term on the Board in 2018. She served as the MRSNZ Complaints Officer from 2010-2014 and the RANZ Professional Conduct Officer from 2014-2020.
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Karin is a member of QRCA and the Australasia/ SE Asia representative for their International Chapter.
QRCA is an international not-for-profit association of qualitative research consultants. Founded in New York in 1983, it is the largest group of its kind, with almost 1,000 members in over 25 countries.
The QRCA Code of Member Ethics and Guide to Professional Qualitative Research Practices are recognized in the industry as one of the most comprehensive efforts by any professional research association to address the issue of ethics and best practices.
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