Her research interests include gender and economic restructuring, rural development, women's economic networks, feminist methodology, and critical pedagogy. Much of her research takes place in Appalachia and South Africa where she is conducting a comparative analysis of collective economic strategies among rural women.

In addition to her position in the Geography Program at WVU, Dr. Oberhauser is a Faculty Associate in the Center for Women's Studies and a Faculty Research Associate in the Regional Research Institute. She teaches courses on globalization, development, feminist geography, the geography of Europe, and qualitative research methods.