My PhD research involved extensive archival research in repositories in New Zealand and England. In piecing together the international lives of New Zealand authors, I examined many letters, diaries, publishing records and obscure books. Published as a book in 2018, readers' reports said it was based on an "extremely impressive collection of material" with "impeccable" scholarly referencing.

I have expertise and experience with local and family history sources. As well as teaching this subject at Western Sydney University, work I undertook in the NSW State Archives and State Library of NSW contributed to Joanna Davis's book The O'Neills of Queanbeyan, published in 2019.

I have worked in a variety of research contexts, conducting literature reviews, data collection and analysis on topics as disparate as community bushfire resilience and digital platforms for young people. For example, as research assistant for the Colonial and Settler Studies Network (University of Wollongong) I reviewed literature on climate and settler hill stations in Borneo and Malaya for Dr Claire Lowrie and examined passenger shipping records, archives and digital newspapers for Dr Frances Steel.

“Helen’s meticulous attention to the intricacies of archival research, her efficient transcriptions of original documents, and her careful editorial eye ensured research projects progressed smoothly.”
- Dr Frances Steel, Associate Professor, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong.