Overbey's primary research focuses on two areas: (1) social justice issues, with two sub-focal points: (a) Black/African American student experiences with libraries before and during college; (b) school-to-prison pipeline and African American youth; and (2) health and wellness issues, particularly how libraries can support a better environment for communities of color who face food insecurities and food shortages. Her new research has been published, where she has partnered with a colleague on writing a scoping review that points out alternative resources for at-risk youth, other than mass incarceration. Tracey recently published a co-authored two-part Special Report with colleague Dr. Amanda Folk from Ohio State University Libraries, through the American Library Association, titled Narratives of (Dis)Enfranchisement: Reckoning with the History of Libraries and the Black and African-American Experience.