Prof Karin Olson is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia Okanagan and Professor Emerita in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta. Her research program has two dimensions: clinical research and qualitative methods development. The clinical research is focused on cancer-related fatigue. Topics of investigation have included fatigue as a stress response, similarities and differences of fatigue in various ill and non-ill populations, the social construction of symptom experience, relationships among fatigue and other symptoms, and the prevention and early detection of fatigue. Her work on methods development research has examined how local research-related beliefs and values are reflected in research practices such as ethics review procedures and how these variations influence research outcomes. Her other methods development research interests include external validity in qualitative research, and the use of structural equation modelling to study symptom clusters.