Particularly interested in the archaeology and history of nomadic peoples, Associate Professor Betts' research has led her down a wide variety of paths including the prehistory of the North Arabian steppe, rock art, hunting traps and water harvesting systems, the origins of nomadic pastoralism in the Near East, nomad-state relations, the Bronze Age of Central Asia and the early development of the Zoroastrian faith. She has directed three major field projects in the east Jordan desert.