Margolis's work is strongly informed by Harris's anthropological research strategy, known as cultural materialism.
Margolis is the author of many books on anthropology, notably Little Brazil, True to Her Nature: Changing Advice to American Women, and An Invisible Minority: Brazilians in New York City.
With Martin F. Murphy she edited Science, Materialism, and the Study of Culture, the most comprehensive collection of writings by anthropologists strongly influenced by cultural materialism to date.
Margolis's research interests include gender, agriculture, Brazil and Brazilian immigrants to the United States.
In December 2005 she was cited in a New York Times article Trading Status for a Raise, and appears in the companion piece, a New York Times video report " Brazil in Queens.