Dr Ankita Mishra (she/her)

Faculty of Social Sciences

Research Associate: Health Priorities

ankita.mishra@sheffield.ac.uk

Full contact details

Dr Ankita Mishra
Faculty of Social Sciences
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
Profile

Ankita Mishra (she/her) is the Research Associate: Health Priorities for the Disability Matters project at iHuman, Social Research Institute, The University of Sheffield.

She is a Committee member at the Centre for Equity and Inclusion where she is closely involved in enhancing the university experience for PGRs of colour along with challenging racism within and beyond the institution through her involvement in various strands of the Centre’s work and multiple Knowledge Exchange projects with the Centre partners for advancing racial justice. She is also a Committee member at the Participatory Research Network leading work on creative research methodologies and PGR experiences of participatory research to enhance inclusive research cultures and environments.

Ankita’s research, teaching and scholar activism is interdisciplinary, centring on social justice, accessibility, inclusion and equity, particularly within the areas of gender-based violence, health, healing, wellbeing, higher education and research cultures. She draws upon critical, feminist and community psychology, sociology, critical race theory, intersectionality, critical disability studies, Black feminism, decolonial theory and the intersections of these areas. Ankita is also driven by creative, arts-based and multimodal co-production approaches to knowledge co-creation, generation and communication. She is passionate about community collaboration, partnerships and outreach by working with and being embedded in communities, grassroots activism and advocacy. Throughout her work, Ankita pushes traditional boundaries of knowledge production by valuing aesthetic, embodied, visual and multifaceted knowledges. She has worked on a number of research projects with over seven years of research experience using participatory approaches and collaborative endeavours with non-academic partner organisations across the UK and India.

Ankita completed her PhD in Psychology at the University of Sheffield, funded by the Faculty of Science Research Scholarship, in which she worked with a domestic abuse charity by and for racially minoritised women, Humraaz (based in Blackburn, UK), using a participatory action research approach through multimodal research methods (qualitative, creative, arts-based, quantitative) to explore the experiences of mental health, wellbeing, help and support seeking of racially minoritised women victim-survivors of domestic abuse in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to her PhD, Ankita was a Lecturer in the University of Delhi where she taught modules on community psychology, applied social psychology, counselling psychology and supervised research projects of undergraduate students of Psychology. She continued teaching during her PhD as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in Research Methods in Psychology for Level 1 and 2 undergraduate students in the Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield. Ankita was also a Study Skills Tutor at 301 Academic Skills Centre of the University of Sheffield. She also supervised undergraduate students’ research projects under the Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) scheme.

Qualifications

PhD, Psychology, University of Sheffield (2020-2024)

MA Psychology,  University of Delhi (2015-2017)

BA (Hons) Psychology, University of Delhi (2012-2015)

Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2021)

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2024)

Research interests

Ankita is particularly interested in participatory action research, creative and/or arts-based research methods that amplify multiple ways of knowing and being in marginalised communities affected by intersectional oppression. She yearns to disrupt dominant and extractivist ways of thinking, research, generating and sharing knowledge by challenging and rethinking existing systems of power that perpetuate inequities to advance gender, racial and disability justice.

Her current research uses creative and participatory approaches to explore disabled people’s health priorities in transnational contexts. She is also curious about research ethics rooted in love, care, accountability and principles of indigenous ethics in relation to discourses on vulnerability and sensitive topics.

Ankita is passionate about de-scholarising the academy by transforming academic-community collaborations embodying the principle of ‘Nothing about us without us is for us’. She aspires to work towards equitable, accessible and inclusive teaching, learning and research cultures through creative liberation and fostering affirmative counter-narratives about the margins. She hopes to do that by centering the margins from the geopolitical south through the lens of feminism, anti-racism, anticolonial, anti-ableism and anti-disablism in her research, activism and practice.

Grants

Mishra, A. University of Sheffield PGR publication scholarship, June - August, 2024: £4655

Gibson-Miller, J., Mishra, A., Wood, C. Clay, Thread and Light: In conversation with racially minoritised survivors of domestic abuse. Festival of the Mind, University of Sheffield, February - September, 2024: £5000

Ktenidis, A., Mishra, A., Grosset, C., Chang, H., Ryan, T., Abullayeva, T. Critical reflection on research ethics in vulnerable populations and sensitive topics. University Research Ethics Committee, University of Sheffield, January - July, 2024: £1000

White, L., Liddiard, K., Mishra, A. Fulfilling the Philosophies and Practices of Participatory Research with and for PGRs. Research England funded participatory research funding, January - July 2024: £19000

Mishra, A., de Carvalho, N.C., Worthington, V. Creativity in Research by Exploring Alliance, Togetherness and Expression through zines. Think Ahead Researcher Development funding, December, 2023 - June, 2024: £1500

Mishra, A. You Can't Be Too Skinny. You Can't Be Too Fat. I Don't Know What You Are Supposed To Be [Film], Digital Pop-Up fund, University of Sheffield, July - September, 2023: £5000

Mishra, A. Postgraduate Researcher Experience Programme, University of Sheffield, April- July, 2023: £1420

Gibson-Miller, J., Mishra, A., Wood, C. Love Should Not Hurt: A Way Out, Festival of the Mind, University of Sheffield, February - September, 2022: £2931

Mishra, A., Tan, W.Q. The effects of imagined contact on sexism and rape myth acceptance in university students. Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Scheme, University of Sheffield, June- September, 2022: £1250

Mishra, A., Kaveh, A. The effectiveness of imagined contact on reducing sexism in university students. Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Scheme, University of Sheffield, June- September, 2021: £1250

Professional activities and memberships

Committee Member, Centre for Equity and Inclusion, University of Sheffield

Committee Member, Participatory Research Network, University of Sheffield

Member, The Reject Lounge

Committee Member, BPS Psychology of Women Equalities Section

Steering Group Member and Researcher Development Coordinator, Violence Against Women and Girls Research Network

Co-Facilitator, Media Special Interest Group, Violence Against Women and Girls Research Network

Co-Chair, Humraaz, Blackburn

Publications (Journal Articles, Reports, Podcasts, Blogs, Animations, Films)

Mishra, A., White, L., Liddiard, K. (2024, August 28) Participatory research poses challenges to postgraduate researchers – here’s how we’re tackling the issue, NCRM News https://www.ncrm.ac.uk/news/show.php?article=5836

Mishra, A., (2024). Ethical Research and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Co-production with marginalised populations as a postgraduate researcher [Video] https://digitalmedia.sheffield.ac.uk/media/Co-Production+with+Marginalised+Populations/1_lefiulu9

Mishra, A. (2024). The University of Sheffield experience of international Postgraduate Researchers https://equityinclusionsheffield.co.uk/international-pgr-report/

Beddows, A., Mishra, A. (2024) How Agencies Enable and Perpetuate Coercive Control of Women, Psychology of Women and Equalities Review. https://explore.bps.org.uk/content/bpspowe/7/1

Liddiard, K., White, L., Mishra, A. (Hosts). (2023, October 11). Hiccups (No. 1) [Audio podcast series] In Participatory research-methods and experiences. Kitty Turner. https://player.sheffield.ac.uk/events/episode-1-hiccups

Liddiard, K., White, L., Mishra, A. (Hosts). (2023, October 11). Hopes and Aspirations (No. 2) [Audio podcast series] In Participatory research-methods and experiences. Kitty Turner. https://player.sheffield.ac.uk/events/episode-2-hopes-and-aspirations

Liddiard, K., White, L., Mishra, A. (Hosts). (2023, October 11). Our calls to Action (No. 3) [Audio podcast series] In Participatory research-methods and experiences. Kitty Turner. https://player.sheffield.ac.uk/events/episode-3-our-calls-action

Nifty Fox Creative & Mishra, A (Director, Producer, Writer). (2023). You Can't Be Too Skinny. You Can't Be Too Fat. I Don't Know What You Are Supposed To Be [Film]. Nifty Fox Creative https://player.sheffield.ac.uk/events/you-cant-be-too-skinny-you-cant-be-too-fat-i-dont-know-what-you-are-supposed-be

Annand, PJ., Nataraj, S., Bernardi, F., Wempe, M., Mattheis. L., Mishra, A. (2023) Beyond 'do no harm': Feminist and Decolonial Approaches to Impact via Participatory Arts. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4953752

Adelaine, A., Mishra, A (2023). Co-Creation Workshop Report: Co-design of the Scholars Retreat and Sankofa Academy. Ladders4Action.

Mishra, A., Craddock, N., Chan, J., Elwyn, R., Cerea, S., Tan., W., Haamed H., Turk, F. (2023) "You Can't Be Too Skinny. You Can't Be Too Fat. I Don't Know What You Are Supposed To Be.": A Qualitative Focus Group Study Exploring Body Image Experiences of South Asian Women in the UK, Body Image. Vol 46/pp 123-138 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.05.005.

Thompson, L., Turley., E. L., Frances, T., Donnelly, L.C., Lazard, L., Bassra, S., Castellino, C., Christie, D., Hubbard, K., Jia, X., Keating, G., Lobban, R., Luo, T., Mishra, A., Moore, N., Smith, B. (2023) Doing feminisms on the ground: Challenges and opportunities for critical feminist psychologists, Psychology of Women and Equalities Review https://doi.org/10.53841/bpspowe.2023.6.1.5

Mishra, A., House, M., Asser, Z., Beddows, A. (2023, April 17) The need for alternative representations of domestic violence in film, Transforming Society. https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2023/04/17/the-need-for-alternative-representations-of-domestic-violence-in-film/

Jain, G, Mishra, A., (2022) Ten Years since Nirbhaya: A Critical Analysis of Retributive Justice in Addressing Sexual Violence. Global Advances in Victimology and Psychological Studies, Vol 1/Issue1/pp 21-29

Mishra, A., House, M., Asser Z., Beddows, A (2022, June 27). ‘I May Destroy You: Why media representations of sexual violence matter. Transforming Society. https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2022/06/27/i-may-destroy-you-why-media-representations-of-sexual-violence-matter/

Datta S., Mishra A., (2019). Social Influence and Interventions: Perceived effectiveness of anti-smoking advertisements. International Journal of Social Sciences and Economic Research, Vol 4/Issue 3/pp 1846-1862

Mishra A., Datta S., (2019). Understanding the Experience of Cyberbullying Victimisation in Young Adults. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, Vol 6/Issue 1/pp 231z-243z