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Research staff:
- Perimenopause
- Menopause
- Sexualities
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Critical Psychology
- Feminist Psychology
Teaching staff:

- Qualifications:Psychology PhD, Psychology BSc
- Position:Associate Head of Research and Knowledge Exchange - School of Social Sciences
- Department:HAS - Health and Social Sciences
- Telephone:+4411732 82139
- Email:Nikki2.Hayfield@uwe.ac.uk
About me
My research interests are primarily exploring i) peri/menopause and reproductive lives and ii) bisexualities, pansexualities, asexualities, and sexualities (including heterosexualities) more widely.
I use qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, in particular thematic analysis, and have written papers, chapters, and a book about qualitative research methods.
I have published on a range of topics including peri/menopause, childfree identities, bisexualities, marginalisation, and relationships.
I am a British Psychological Society (BPS) Chartered Psychologist.
Recent projects
I co-authored Essentials of Thematic Analysis with Gareth Terry (Auckland University of Technology) which was published in 2021 as part of the American Psychological Association's Essentials of Qualitative Methods book series.
My book entitled Bisexual and Pansexual Identities: Exploring and challenging invisibility and invalidation was published in July 2020 and you can read the first chapter free of charge by clicking on preview this title on the publisher's page.
You can find a full list of my publications at the end of this page - where possible I do make (pre-publication) versions publicly available via the UWE Research Repository and on academic sites such as ResearchGate and Academia.edu
Area of expertise
Background
I began my research as an undergraduate student when I explored women's understandings of sex and affection for my final year undergraduate dissertation.
After a brief break from academia to visit Australia, I returned to the UK and completed my PhD on bisexual women's visual identities.
After completing my PhD in 2011, I primarily focused my research around marginalised identities, including bisexualities, pansexualities, and asexualities.
Current areas of focus
Most recently, I have turned my focus to several specific areas of interest that broadly relate to reproduction and relationships – these include peri/menopause, (hetero)sexualities and relationships, and childfree identities.
I have a love of various forms of motor racing and after a student proposed a project on sexualities and motorsport, I am now conducting a small study on this topic - the results will be fedback to Motorsport UK.
I am currently Editor-in-Chief for Sex Roles, a Consulting Editor for Feminism & Psychology, and a member of the Editorial Board for Women's Reproductive Health, and the Journal of Lesbian Studies. I also regularly review for a number of psychology and qualitative methods journals.
I try to do all the things that most academics do - present at conferences, do public talks, publish papers, submit applications to secure research funding, and work with organisations wherever possible. If you want to see my CV for more details of all these things, then please do get in touch.
Teaching
- Human Sexualities (Level 3 undergraduate)
- Qualitative and Quantitative Methods (M Level) (qualitative research methods)
Supervision
I currently supervise undergraduate and postgraduate projects and would be delighted to consider applications from potential PhD students on topics that fit my current areas of research focus. I am particularly keen to supervise students who are interested in conducting qualitative research around peri/menopause.
Publications
