![Robin Smith](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/7914?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Professor Robin Smith
(he/him)
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Teams and roles for Robin Smith
Professor of Sociology
Overview
Overview:
I am Professor of Sociology in the School of Social Sciences where I teach ethnography, urban sociology, interactionist theory, qualitative research methods, and ethnomethodology. I am also Visiting Professor in the School of Human and Community Development, University of the Witwatersrand.
I am currently UK PI on the ESRC funded, ORA7 international project "Visions of Policing". Working with colleagues in Canada, Germany, and France, this project investigates how visual technologies produce emergent forms of police oversight and accountability in public and legalistic contexts, as well as their use in police training to accomplish understandings of 'reasonable officer conduct'.
More generally, my research is influenced by the work of Harold Garfinkel and Harvey Sacks and has included: an ethnography of urban outreach work with the street homeless; a study of social scientific reasoning and coding procedures; and studies of mobile interaction and spatial categorisation practices in cycling, walking, and running. In my spare time, I am pursuing some of the above interests via an ongoing ethnomethodological ethnography of the work of Mountain Rescue. And I am, like many others, trying to work out ways to describe scenes and activities featuring (social) robots and "AI"/automated systems.
I'm always happy to talk about any of the above interests, and am available to supervise doctoral research in any substantive area which includes ethnography, video studies, and EMCA.
Current responsibilities:
MSc Sociology Program Lead.
Convenor of Cardiff Ethnography Ethnomethodology, Interaction and Talk (CEEIT) research group.
Convener of the Cardiff Ethnography, Cultural and Interpretive Analysis Research Group.
Board member, European Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction.
Faculty member and academic lead for Wales of the EMCA Doctoral Network
Editorial Board member of Discourse, Context, and Media
Editorial Board member of Qualitative Research
Publication
2025
- Smith, R. 2025. Categorizational asymmetries in context: Producing and resisting policeable scenes. Symbolic Interaction (10.1002/symb.1246)
- Smith, R. 2025. Membership categorisation analysis. In: Carlin, A. et al. eds. Routledge International Handbook of Ethnomethodology. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, (10.4324/9780429323904-21)
- Smith, R. 2025. Walking the line: Search practices, environment, and the practice of care in mountain rescue work. In: Bates, C. and Jackson, E. eds. Walking: A Sociological Field Guide. Manchester: Manchester University Press
- Smith, R., Smith, T. and Pehkonen, S. 2025. The senses-in-action: visual and haptic encounters with occasioned environments. In: Gibson, W., Ruiz-Junco, N. and vom Lehn, D. eds. Sensing Life: the social organisation of the senses in interaction. Routledge
- Smith, R. 2025. Teaching doing ethnography. In: Foster, L., Mason, W. and Nichols, K. eds. Teaching Research Methods in Sociology. Edward Elgar
2023
- Smith, R., Ablitt, J., Williams, J. and Hall, T. 2023. The coining of convivial public space: Homelessness, outreach work, and interaction order. Urban Planning 8(4), pp. 42-51. (10.17645/up.v8i4.6457)
- Smith, R. and Delamont, S. eds. 2023. Leaving the field: Methodological insights from ethnographic exits. Manchester: Manchester University Press. (10.7765/9781526157669)
- Weightman, A. L. et al. 2023. Exploring the effect of case management in homelessness per components: A systematic review of effectiveness and implementation, with meta‐analysis and thematic synthesis. Campbell Systematic Reviews 19(2), article number: e1329. (10.1002/cl2.1329)
2022
- Smith, R. 2022. Digital mobilities and digital society. In: Housley, W. et al. eds. SAGE Handbook of Digital Society. London: SAGE, pp. 55-72.
- Smith, R. 2022. Fieldwork, participation, and unique-adequacy-in-action. Qualitative Research (10.1177/14687941221132955)
- Smith, R. J., Atkinson, P. and Evans, R. 2022. Situating stigma: Accounting for deviancy, difference, and categorial relations. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice 28(5), pp. 890-896. (10.1111/jep.13749)
- Smith, R. J. 2022. Interaction in public places. In: Jacobsen, M. H. and Smith, G. eds. The Routledge International Handbook of Goffman Studies. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, pp. 97-107., (10.4324/9781003160861-10)
- Weightman, A. L. et al. 2022. PROTOCOL: Exploring the effect of case management in homelessness per components: A systematic review of effectiveness and implementation, with meta-analysis and thematic synthesis. Campbell Systematic Reviews 18(1), article number: e1220. (10.1002/cl2.1220)
- Pehkonen, S., Smith, T. A. and Smith, R. J. 2022. Maps, mobility, and perspective: remarks on map use in producing an orienteering course. Mobilities 17(1), pp. 152-178. (10.1080/17450101.2021.1953945)
2021
- Smith, R. 2021. Space, mobility, and interaction. In: Vom Lehn, D., Ruiz-Junco, N. and Gibson, W. eds. The Routledge International Handbook of Interactionism. Routledge International Handbooks Abingdon and New York: Routledge
- Smith, R. J. 2021. Categorisation practices, instructed actions, and teamwork as occasioned phenomena: structuring the ‘carry off’ in mountain rescue work. In: Cekaite, A. et al. eds. Human‐Assisted Mobility in Social Interaction. Gesprächsforschung Online‐Zeitschrift zur verbalen Interaktion
- Jimenez, P. and Smith, R. 2021. Accomplishing the categorial landscape of the classroom: the case of group singing. Ethnographic Studies 18, pp. 173-194. (10.5281/zenodo.5805434)
2020
- Smith, R. J. 2020. Categorisation practices, place, and perception: doing incongruities and the commonplace scene as ‘assembled activity’. In: Smith, R. J., Fitzgerald, R. and Housley, W. eds. On Sacks: Methdology, Materials, and Inspirations. Directions in Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis Routledge, pp. 182-194.
- Smith, R., Fitzgerald, R. and Housley, W. eds. 2020. On sacks: methdology, materials, and inspirations. Routledge.
- Stanley, S., Smith, R., Jones, J. and Ford, E. 2020. Making something out of nothing: breaching everyday life by standing still in a public place. The Sociological Review 68(6), pp. 1250-1272. (10.1177/0038026120940616)
- Smith, R. 2020. Seeing the trouble: a mountain rescue training scenario in its circumstantial and situated detail in three frames. Ethnographic Studies 17, pp. 41-59. (10.5281/zenodo.4050536)
- Smith, R. J. et al. 2020. Ethnography and the new normal. Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa 2020(2), pp. 195-205. (10.3240/97805)
2019
- Ablitt, J. and Smith, R. J. 2019. Working out Douglas’ aphorism: discarded objects, categorisation practices, and moral inquiries. The Sociological Review 67(4), pp. 866-885. (10.1177/0038026119854271)
- Smith, R. 2019. Visually available order, categorisation practices, and perception-in-action: a running commentary. Visual Studies 34(1), pp. 28-40. (10.1080/1472586X.2019.1622445)
- Smith, R. J. and Delamont, S. 2019. Editorial introduction. In: The Lost Ethnographies: Methodological Insights from Projects that Never Were., Vol. 17.Smith, R. J. and Delamont, S. Studies in Qualitative Methodology Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 1-15.
- Smith, R. and Delamont, S. eds. 2019. The lost ethnographies: Methodological insights from projects that never were.. Studies in Qualitative Methodology. Bingley: Emerald.
- Smith, R. 2019. Remarks from a lost engagement with the engaging ordinariness of parkour. In: Smith, R. J. and Delamont, S. eds. The Lost Ethnographies: Methodological Insights from Projects that Never Were., Vol. 17. Studies in Qualitative Methodology Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 31-45.
- Delamont, S., Atkinson, P., Coffey, A. and Smith, R. 2019. Lo spirito esplorativo libero La scuola di Etnografia di Cardiff 1974 - 2017, Traduzione di Giuseppina Cersosimo, Chiuso in stampa nel mese di marzo 2019, Presso Creative 3.0 srl - Reggio Calabria. Documentation.
2018
- Smith, R. 2018. The lessons to be learned from a(Re)introduction to covert research: Ethics beyond informed consent [Book Review] Covert research: The art, politics and ethics of undercover fieldwork By David Calvey (SAGE, 2017)[Book Review]. Symbolic Interaction 41(4), pp. 571-573. (10.1002/SYMB.362)
- Smith, R. J. and Hall, T. 2018. Everyday territories: homelessness, outreach work and city space. British Journal of Sociology 69(2), pp. 372-390. (10.1111/1468-4446.12280)
2017
- Housley, W., Dicks, B., Henwood, K. and Smith, R. 2017. Qualitative methods and data in digital societies. Qualitative Research 17(6), pp. 607-609. (10.1177/1468794117730936)
- Smith, R. J. 2017. Membership categorisation, category-relevant spaces, and perception-in-action: the case of disputes between cyclists and drivers. Journal of Pragmatics 118, pp. 120-133. (10.1016/j.pragma.2017.05.007)
- Smith, R. J. 2017. The practical organisation of space, interaction, and communication in and as the work of crossing a shared space intersection. Sociologica 2017(2) (10.2383/88200)
- Smith, R. 2017. Evrick Brown and Timothy Shortell (eds) (2016). Walking in Cities: Quotidian Mobility as Urban Theory, Method, and Practice. Philadelphia: Temple University Press [Book Review]. Urbanities - Journal of Urban Ethnography 7(1), pp. 140-143.
- Housley, W. and Smith, R. J. 2017. Interactionism and digital society. Qualitative Research 17(2), pp. 187-201. (10.1177/1468794116685142)
- Hall, T. and Smith, R. J. 2017. Seeing the need: urban outreach as sensory walking. In: Bates, C. and Rhys-Taylor, A. eds. Walking Through Social Research. New York: Routledge, pp. 39-53., (10.4324/9781315561547-4)
- Smith, R. J. 2017. Doing it tidy: the open exploratory spirit and methodological engagement in recent Cardiff ethnographies. In: Delamont, S. ed. An Open Exploratory Spirit? The Cardiff School of Ethnography 1974-2017. Kurumuny Edizioni, pp. 50-60.
2016
- Smith, R. J. and Hall, T. 2016. Mobilities at work: care, repair, movement and a fourfold typology. Applied Mobilities 1(2), pp. 147-160. (10.1080/23800127.2016.1246897)
- Smith, R. J. and Hall, T. 2016. Pedestrian circulations: Urban ethnography, the mobilities paradigm and outreach work. Mobilities 11(4), pp. 498-508. (10.1080/17450101.2016.1211819)
- Wood, L. A., Smith, R. J. and Hall, T. A. 2016. Work on the move: editors' introduction to the special issue. Applied Mobilities 1(2), pp. 139-146. (10.1080/23800127.2016.1250371)
- Smith, R. 2016. Book review: Dirk Vom Lehn, Harold Garfinkel: the creation and development of ethnomethodology. Qualitative Research 16(3), pp. 348-349. (10.1177/1468794115571435)
2015
- Smith, R. and Atkinson, P. 2015. Method and measurement in sociology, fifty years on. International Journal of Social Research Methodology 19(1), pp. 99-110. (10.1080/13645579.2015.1068010)
- Housley, W. and Smith, R. 2015. Membership categorisation and methodological reasoning in research team interaction. In: Fitzgerald, R. and Housley, W. eds. Advances in Membership Categorisation Analysis. SAGE
- Smith, R. 2015. Book review: Peter Tolmie and Mark Rouncefield (eds), Ethnomethodology at Play R Smith. Qualitative Research 15(2), pp. 269-270. (10.1177/1468794114535039)
- Hall, T. A. and Smith, R. J. 2015. Care and repair and the politics of urban kindness. Sociology 49(1), pp. 3-18. (10.1177/0038038514546662)
- Housley, W., Dicks, B., Henwood, K. L. and Smith, R. J. 2015. Editorial. Qualitative Research 15(1), pp. 3-3. (10.1177/1468794114567381)
2014
- Taylor, S. and Smith, R. J. 2014. The ethics of interviewing for discourse analysis: responses to Martyn Hammersley. Qualitative Research 14(5), pp. 542-548. (10.1177/1468794113503742)
- Hall, T. and Smith, R. J. 2014. Knowing the city: maps, mobility and urban outreach work. Qualitative Research 14(3), pp. 294-310. (10.1177/1468794112469623)
- Smith, R. J. 2014. Missed miracles and mystical connections: Qualitative research, digital social science and big data. In: Hand, M. and Hillyard, S. eds. Big Data? Qualitative Approaches to Digital Research., Vol. 13. Studies in Qualitative Methodology Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp. 181-204., (10.1108/S1042-319220140000013011)
2013
- Smith, R. J. 2013. Symbolic interaction. In: McIntosh, S. et al. eds. Key Concepts in Nursing and Healthcare Research.. SAGE, pp. 125-130.
- Smith, R. J. and Hetherington, K. eds. 2013. Urban rhythms: mobilities, space and interaction in the contemporary city. Sociological Review Monographs. Chichester: Wiley.
- Smith, R. J. 2013. Accounting for the landscape of regeneration: Spatial membership, categorization practices, and the moral order of commonsense topographies. Space and Culture 16(1), pp. 43-59. (10.1177/1206331212451668)
- Smith, R. 2013. Book review: Sarah Pink, situating everyday life: practices and places. Qualitative Research 13(5), pp. 628-630.
- Maynard, T., Taylor, C. M., Waldron, S., Rhys, M., Smith, R., Power, S. and Clement, J. 2013. Evaluating the Foundation Phase: policy logic model and programme theory. Project Report. [Online]. Welsh Government. Available at: http://gov.wales/docs/caecd/research/130318-evaluating-foundation-phase-policy-logic-model-programme-theory-en.pdf
- Smith, R. J. and Hall, T. A. 2013. No time out: mobility, rhythmicity and urban patrol in the twenty-four hour city. The Sociological Review 61(S1), pp. 89-108. (10.1111/1467-954X.12055)
- Hall, T. A. and Smith, R. J. 2013. Stop and Go: A Field Study of Pedestrian Practice, Immobility and Urban Outreach Work. Mobilities 8(2), pp. 272-292. (10.1080/17450101.2012.659470)
2012
- Smith, R. 2012. Personal troubles and public Issues on the streets of Las Vegas: Homeless in Las Vegas: Stories From the Street By Kurt Borchard Nevada: University of Nevada Press, 2011 [Book Review]. Symbolic Interaction 35(4), pp. 510-512. (10.1002/symb.37)
- Smith, R. J. 2012. How far does mobility get us?. Sociology 46(3), pp. 555-561. (10.1177/0038038511419181)
2011
- Hall, T. A. and Smith, R. J. 2011. Walking, welfare and the good city. Anthropology in Action 18(3), pp. 33-44. (10.3167/aia.2011.180304)
- Housley, W. and Smith, R. J. 2011. Mundane reason, membership categorization practices and the everyday ontology of space and place in interview talk. Qualitative Research 11(6), pp. 698-715. (10.1177/1468794111415960)
- Housley, W. and Smith, R. J. 2011. Telling the CAQDAS code: Membership categorization and the accomplishment of ‘coding rules’ in research team talk. Discourse Studies 13(4), pp. 417-434. (10.1177/1461445611403258)
- Smith, R. J., Heley, J. and Stafford, I. 2011. Woolworths and Wales: a multi-dimensional analysis of the loss of a local brand. Sociological Research Online 16(1), article number: 10. (10.5153/sro.2284)
- Smith, R. J. 2011. Goffman's interaction order at the margins: stigma, role, and normalization in the outreach encounter. Symbolic Interaction 34(3), pp. 357-376. (10.1525/si.2011.34.3.357)
2010
- Delamont, S., Atkinson, P. A., Smith, R. J., Da Costa, L., Hillyard, S. and Pilgrim, A. 2010. Review symposium: Martyn Hammersley, Questioning Qualitative Inquiry. Qualitative Research 10(6), pp. 749-758. (10.1177/1468794110380578)
- Housley, W. and Smith, R. J. 2010. Innovation and reduction in contemporary qualitative methods: the case of conceptual coupling, activity-type pairs and auto-ethnography. Sociological Research Online 15(4), article number: 9. (10.5153/sro.2216)
- Smith, R. J. 2010. SALLY CAMPBELL GALMAN, Shane, The Lone Ethnographer: A Beginner’s Guide to Ethnography. Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press, 2007. 181 pp. ISBN 9780759103443 (pbk) £17.99 [Book review]. Qualitative Research 10(2), pp. 275-276. (10.1177/14687941100100020902)
- Smith, R. 2010. Whose method is it anyway? Researching space, setting, and practice. Cardiff University Working Paper Series 135, pp. 1-9.
2009
- Housley, W., Moles, K. and Smith, R. 2009. Identity, brand or citizenship: the case of post-devolution Wales. Contemporary Wales 22(1), pp. 196-210.
- Smith, R. 2009. Outreach as sense walking. Presented at: Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference, Manchester, UK, August 2009.
- Housley, W. and Smith, R. J. 2009. Mundane reason and the politics of space. Presented at: Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference, Manchester, UK, August 2009.
- Housley, W. and Smith, R. J. 2009. Mundane reason, ontology and the politics of space. Presented at: Sociological Review Conference- The Politics of Imagination, Stratford, UK, May 2009.
- Smith, R. 2009. The negotiation of a pastless place. Presented at: British Sociological Association Annual Conference, Cardiff, UK, April 2009.
Articles
- Smith, R. 2025. Categorizational asymmetries in context: Producing and resisting policeable scenes. Symbolic Interaction (10.1002/symb.1246)
- Smith, R., Ablitt, J., Williams, J. and Hall, T. 2023. The coining of convivial public space: Homelessness, outreach work, and interaction order. Urban Planning 8(4), pp. 42-51. (10.17645/up.v8i4.6457)
- Weightman, A. L. et al. 2023. Exploring the effect of case management in homelessness per components: A systematic review of effectiveness and implementation, with meta‐analysis and thematic synthesis. Campbell Systematic Reviews 19(2), article number: e1329. (10.1002/cl2.1329)
- Smith, R. 2022. Fieldwork, participation, and unique-adequacy-in-action. Qualitative Research (10.1177/14687941221132955)
- Smith, R. J., Atkinson, P. and Evans, R. 2022. Situating stigma: Accounting for deviancy, difference, and categorial relations. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice 28(5), pp. 890-896. (10.1111/jep.13749)
- Weightman, A. L. et al. 2022. PROTOCOL: Exploring the effect of case management in homelessness per components: A systematic review of effectiveness and implementation, with meta-analysis and thematic synthesis. Campbell Systematic Reviews 18(1), article number: e1220. (10.1002/cl2.1220)
- Pehkonen, S., Smith, T. A. and Smith, R. J. 2022. Maps, mobility, and perspective: remarks on map use in producing an orienteering course. Mobilities 17(1), pp. 152-178. (10.1080/17450101.2021.1953945)
- Jimenez, P. and Smith, R. 2021. Accomplishing the categorial landscape of the classroom: the case of group singing. Ethnographic Studies 18, pp. 173-194. (10.5281/zenodo.5805434)
- Stanley, S., Smith, R., Jones, J. and Ford, E. 2020. Making something out of nothing: breaching everyday life by standing still in a public place. The Sociological Review 68(6), pp. 1250-1272. (10.1177/0038026120940616)
- Smith, R. 2020. Seeing the trouble: a mountain rescue training scenario in its circumstantial and situated detail in three frames. Ethnographic Studies 17, pp. 41-59. (10.5281/zenodo.4050536)
- Smith, R. J. et al. 2020. Ethnography and the new normal. Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa 2020(2), pp. 195-205. (10.3240/97805)
- Ablitt, J. and Smith, R. J. 2019. Working out Douglas’ aphorism: discarded objects, categorisation practices, and moral inquiries. The Sociological Review 67(4), pp. 866-885. (10.1177/0038026119854271)
- Smith, R. 2019. Visually available order, categorisation practices, and perception-in-action: a running commentary. Visual Studies 34(1), pp. 28-40. (10.1080/1472586X.2019.1622445)
- Smith, R. 2018. The lessons to be learned from a(Re)introduction to covert research: Ethics beyond informed consent [Book Review] Covert research: The art, politics and ethics of undercover fieldwork By David Calvey (SAGE, 2017)[Book Review]. Symbolic Interaction 41(4), pp. 571-573. (10.1002/SYMB.362)
- Smith, R. J. and Hall, T. 2018. Everyday territories: homelessness, outreach work and city space. British Journal of Sociology 69(2), pp. 372-390. (10.1111/1468-4446.12280)
- Housley, W., Dicks, B., Henwood, K. and Smith, R. 2017. Qualitative methods and data in digital societies. Qualitative Research 17(6), pp. 607-609. (10.1177/1468794117730936)
- Smith, R. J. 2017. Membership categorisation, category-relevant spaces, and perception-in-action: the case of disputes between cyclists and drivers. Journal of Pragmatics 118, pp. 120-133. (10.1016/j.pragma.2017.05.007)
- Smith, R. J. 2017. The practical organisation of space, interaction, and communication in and as the work of crossing a shared space intersection. Sociologica 2017(2) (10.2383/88200)
- Smith, R. 2017. Evrick Brown and Timothy Shortell (eds) (2016). Walking in Cities: Quotidian Mobility as Urban Theory, Method, and Practice. Philadelphia: Temple University Press [Book Review]. Urbanities - Journal of Urban Ethnography 7(1), pp. 140-143.
- Housley, W. and Smith, R. J. 2017. Interactionism and digital society. Qualitative Research 17(2), pp. 187-201. (10.1177/1468794116685142)
- Smith, R. J. and Hall, T. 2016. Mobilities at work: care, repair, movement and a fourfold typology. Applied Mobilities 1(2), pp. 147-160. (10.1080/23800127.2016.1246897)
- Smith, R. J. and Hall, T. 2016. Pedestrian circulations: Urban ethnography, the mobilities paradigm and outreach work. Mobilities 11(4), pp. 498-508. (10.1080/17450101.2016.1211819)
- Wood, L. A., Smith, R. J. and Hall, T. A. 2016. Work on the move: editors' introduction to the special issue. Applied Mobilities 1(2), pp. 139-146. (10.1080/23800127.2016.1250371)
- Smith, R. 2016. Book review: Dirk Vom Lehn, Harold Garfinkel: the creation and development of ethnomethodology. Qualitative Research 16(3), pp. 348-349. (10.1177/1468794115571435)
- Smith, R. and Atkinson, P. 2015. Method and measurement in sociology, fifty years on. International Journal of Social Research Methodology 19(1), pp. 99-110. (10.1080/13645579.2015.1068010)
- Smith, R. 2015. Book review: Peter Tolmie and Mark Rouncefield (eds), Ethnomethodology at Play R Smith. Qualitative Research 15(2), pp. 269-270. (10.1177/1468794114535039)
- Hall, T. A. and Smith, R. J. 2015. Care and repair and the politics of urban kindness. Sociology 49(1), pp. 3-18. (10.1177/0038038514546662)
- Housley, W., Dicks, B., Henwood, K. L. and Smith, R. J. 2015. Editorial. Qualitative Research 15(1), pp. 3-3. (10.1177/1468794114567381)
- Taylor, S. and Smith, R. J. 2014. The ethics of interviewing for discourse analysis: responses to Martyn Hammersley. Qualitative Research 14(5), pp. 542-548. (10.1177/1468794113503742)
- Hall, T. and Smith, R. J. 2014. Knowing the city: maps, mobility and urban outreach work. Qualitative Research 14(3), pp. 294-310. (10.1177/1468794112469623)
- Smith, R. J. 2013. Accounting for the landscape of regeneration: Spatial membership, categorization practices, and the moral order of commonsense topographies. Space and Culture 16(1), pp. 43-59. (10.1177/1206331212451668)
- Smith, R. 2013. Book review: Sarah Pink, situating everyday life: practices and places. Qualitative Research 13(5), pp. 628-630.
- Smith, R. J. and Hall, T. A. 2013. No time out: mobility, rhythmicity and urban patrol in the twenty-four hour city. The Sociological Review 61(S1), pp. 89-108. (10.1111/1467-954X.12055)
- Hall, T. A. and Smith, R. J. 2013. Stop and Go: A Field Study of Pedestrian Practice, Immobility and Urban Outreach Work. Mobilities 8(2), pp. 272-292. (10.1080/17450101.2012.659470)
- Smith, R. 2012. Personal troubles and public Issues on the streets of Las Vegas: Homeless in Las Vegas: Stories From the Street By Kurt Borchard Nevada: University of Nevada Press, 2011 [Book Review]. Symbolic Interaction 35(4), pp. 510-512. (10.1002/symb.37)
- Smith, R. J. 2012. How far does mobility get us?. Sociology 46(3), pp. 555-561. (10.1177/0038038511419181)
- Hall, T. A. and Smith, R. J. 2011. Walking, welfare and the good city. Anthropology in Action 18(3), pp. 33-44. (10.3167/aia.2011.180304)
- Housley, W. and Smith, R. J. 2011. Mundane reason, membership categorization practices and the everyday ontology of space and place in interview talk. Qualitative Research 11(6), pp. 698-715. (10.1177/1468794111415960)
- Housley, W. and Smith, R. J. 2011. Telling the CAQDAS code: Membership categorization and the accomplishment of ‘coding rules’ in research team talk. Discourse Studies 13(4), pp. 417-434. (10.1177/1461445611403258)
- Smith, R. J., Heley, J. and Stafford, I. 2011. Woolworths and Wales: a multi-dimensional analysis of the loss of a local brand. Sociological Research Online 16(1), article number: 10. (10.5153/sro.2284)
- Smith, R. J. 2011. Goffman's interaction order at the margins: stigma, role, and normalization in the outreach encounter. Symbolic Interaction 34(3), pp. 357-376. (10.1525/si.2011.34.3.357)
- Delamont, S., Atkinson, P. A., Smith, R. J., Da Costa, L., Hillyard, S. and Pilgrim, A. 2010. Review symposium: Martyn Hammersley, Questioning Qualitative Inquiry. Qualitative Research 10(6), pp. 749-758. (10.1177/1468794110380578)
- Housley, W. and Smith, R. J. 2010. Innovation and reduction in contemporary qualitative methods: the case of conceptual coupling, activity-type pairs and auto-ethnography. Sociological Research Online 15(4), article number: 9. (10.5153/sro.2216)
- Smith, R. J. 2010. SALLY CAMPBELL GALMAN, Shane, The Lone Ethnographer: A Beginner’s Guide to Ethnography. Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press, 2007. 181 pp. ISBN 9780759103443 (pbk) £17.99 [Book review]. Qualitative Research 10(2), pp. 275-276. (10.1177/14687941100100020902)
- Smith, R. 2010. Whose method is it anyway? Researching space, setting, and practice. Cardiff University Working Paper Series 135, pp. 1-9.
- Housley, W., Moles, K. and Smith, R. 2009. Identity, brand or citizenship: the case of post-devolution Wales. Contemporary Wales 22(1), pp. 196-210.
Book sections
- Smith, R. 2025. Membership categorisation analysis. In: Carlin, A. et al. eds. Routledge International Handbook of Ethnomethodology. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, (10.4324/9780429323904-21)
- Smith, R. 2025. Walking the line: Search practices, environment, and the practice of care in mountain rescue work. In: Bates, C. and Jackson, E. eds. Walking: A Sociological Field Guide. Manchester: Manchester University Press
- Smith, R., Smith, T. and Pehkonen, S. 2025. The senses-in-action: visual and haptic encounters with occasioned environments. In: Gibson, W., Ruiz-Junco, N. and vom Lehn, D. eds. Sensing Life: the social organisation of the senses in interaction. Routledge
- Smith, R. 2025. Teaching doing ethnography. In: Foster, L., Mason, W. and Nichols, K. eds. Teaching Research Methods in Sociology. Edward Elgar
- Smith, R. 2022. Digital mobilities and digital society. In: Housley, W. et al. eds. SAGE Handbook of Digital Society. London: SAGE, pp. 55-72.
- Smith, R. J. 2022. Interaction in public places. In: Jacobsen, M. H. and Smith, G. eds. The Routledge International Handbook of Goffman Studies. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, pp. 97-107., (10.4324/9781003160861-10)
- Smith, R. 2021. Space, mobility, and interaction. In: Vom Lehn, D., Ruiz-Junco, N. and Gibson, W. eds. The Routledge International Handbook of Interactionism. Routledge International Handbooks Abingdon and New York: Routledge
- Smith, R. J. 2021. Categorisation practices, instructed actions, and teamwork as occasioned phenomena: structuring the ‘carry off’ in mountain rescue work. In: Cekaite, A. et al. eds. Human‐Assisted Mobility in Social Interaction. Gesprächsforschung Online‐Zeitschrift zur verbalen Interaktion
- Smith, R. J. 2020. Categorisation practices, place, and perception: doing incongruities and the commonplace scene as ‘assembled activity’. In: Smith, R. J., Fitzgerald, R. and Housley, W. eds. On Sacks: Methdology, Materials, and Inspirations. Directions in Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis Routledge, pp. 182-194.
- Smith, R. J. and Delamont, S. 2019. Editorial introduction. In: The Lost Ethnographies: Methodological Insights from Projects that Never Were., Vol. 17.Smith, R. J. and Delamont, S. Studies in Qualitative Methodology Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 1-15.
- Smith, R. 2019. Remarks from a lost engagement with the engaging ordinariness of parkour. In: Smith, R. J. and Delamont, S. eds. The Lost Ethnographies: Methodological Insights from Projects that Never Were., Vol. 17. Studies in Qualitative Methodology Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 31-45.
- Hall, T. and Smith, R. J. 2017. Seeing the need: urban outreach as sensory walking. In: Bates, C. and Rhys-Taylor, A. eds. Walking Through Social Research. New York: Routledge, pp. 39-53., (10.4324/9781315561547-4)
- Smith, R. J. 2017. Doing it tidy: the open exploratory spirit and methodological engagement in recent Cardiff ethnographies. In: Delamont, S. ed. An Open Exploratory Spirit? The Cardiff School of Ethnography 1974-2017. Kurumuny Edizioni, pp. 50-60.
- Housley, W. and Smith, R. 2015. Membership categorisation and methodological reasoning in research team interaction. In: Fitzgerald, R. and Housley, W. eds. Advances in Membership Categorisation Analysis. SAGE
- Smith, R. J. 2014. Missed miracles and mystical connections: Qualitative research, digital social science and big data. In: Hand, M. and Hillyard, S. eds. Big Data? Qualitative Approaches to Digital Research., Vol. 13. Studies in Qualitative Methodology Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp. 181-204., (10.1108/S1042-319220140000013011)
- Smith, R. J. 2013. Symbolic interaction. In: McIntosh, S. et al. eds. Key Concepts in Nursing and Healthcare Research.. SAGE, pp. 125-130.
Books
- Smith, R. and Delamont, S. eds. 2023. Leaving the field: Methodological insights from ethnographic exits. Manchester: Manchester University Press. (10.7765/9781526157669)
- Smith, R., Fitzgerald, R. and Housley, W. eds. 2020. On sacks: methdology, materials, and inspirations. Routledge.
- Smith, R. and Delamont, S. eds. 2019. The lost ethnographies: Methodological insights from projects that never were.. Studies in Qualitative Methodology. Bingley: Emerald.
- Smith, R. J. and Hetherington, K. eds. 2013. Urban rhythms: mobilities, space and interaction in the contemporary city. Sociological Review Monographs. Chichester: Wiley.
Conferences
- Smith, R. 2009. Outreach as sense walking. Presented at: Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference, Manchester, UK, August 2009.
- Housley, W. and Smith, R. J. 2009. Mundane reason and the politics of space. Presented at: Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference, Manchester, UK, August 2009.
- Housley, W. and Smith, R. J. 2009. Mundane reason, ontology and the politics of space. Presented at: Sociological Review Conference- The Politics of Imagination, Stratford, UK, May 2009.
- Smith, R. 2009. The negotiation of a pastless place. Presented at: British Sociological Association Annual Conference, Cardiff, UK, April 2009.
Monographs
- Delamont, S., Atkinson, P., Coffey, A. and Smith, R. 2019. Lo spirito esplorativo libero La scuola di Etnografia di Cardiff 1974 - 2017, Traduzione di Giuseppina Cersosimo, Chiuso in stampa nel mese di marzo 2019, Presso Creative 3.0 srl - Reggio Calabria. Documentation.
- Maynard, T., Taylor, C. M., Waldron, S., Rhys, M., Smith, R., Power, S. and Clement, J. 2013. Evaluating the Foundation Phase: policy logic model and programme theory. Project Report. [Online]. Welsh Government. Available at: http://gov.wales/docs/caecd/research/130318-evaluating-foundation-phase-policy-logic-model-programme-theory-en.pdf
Research
I am a founding convenor of the Cardiff Ethnography Ethnomethodology Interaction and Talk (CEEIT) research group where we meet regularly to try and work out some "preposterous problems".
I am currently UK PI on the £1.7m ORA7 international project "Visions of Policing". Working with colleagues in Canada, Germany, and France, the UK ESRC project investigates how visual technologies produce emergent forms of police oversight and accountability in public, social media, and legalistic contexts, as well as their use in police training to accomplish understandings of 'reasonable officer conduct'. The project will run until 2025. (ES/X010775/1)
https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/2726885-impact-of-visual-technologies-on-policing-subject-of-new-research
In my spare time, I am conducting an unfunded study of the work of a Mountain Rescue team. Having joined the Central Beacons MRT in 2017, I am working on producing an ethnomethodological description of their worksite specific practices.
I have conducted a range of unfunded studies - using both self-produced video data and social media materials - on interaction and mobility in public space. These studies have formed the basis of a number of publications, and ground an abiding interest in the organisation of urban public settings.
I was previously a research associate on the ESRC funded WISERD project "Urban Patrols" (2010-2014). The project was ethnographic in character and focus and described the mobility-practices of a variety of "footwork" including council cleansing crews, Police Community Support Officers, and, primarily, outreach workers task with providing 'first aid' (of various kind) to the street homeless, wheresoever they encounted them.
Key words: interactionism; ethnomethodology; conversation analysis; membership categorisation analysis; mobilities, public space; reasoning; perception; methodography
Teaching
I served as Director of Undergraduate Studies for the School of Social Sciences from 2020 to 2024.
I have taught and teach on a range of undergraduate modules including Introduction to Sociology (Y1), Key Ideas (Y1), Introduction to Social Science Research Methods (Y1), Ethnography and Everyday Life (Y2), The Sociology of Stigma (Y3), Sociology on the Move (Y3), Live Theory (Y3), Sociology of Disasters (Y3). I designed and convene a course on Ethnomethodology (Y3). I also teach PGT students a little about EMCA as part of the MSc Social Science Research Methods course.
Outside of Cardiff I contribute to NCRM courses on Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis and Membership Categorisation Analysis (please check NCRM website for details).
Biography
Appointments
Present:
Professor of Sociology
Previous:
2022-2024: Reader in Sociology, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University
2017-2022: Senior Lecturer in Sociology, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University
2012-2017: Lecturer in Sociology, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University
2009-2012: Research Assistant (Wales Institute of Social Economic Research and Data, Cardiff University)
Qualifications
2015 Postgraduate Certificate in University Teaching and Learning (Cardiff University)
2010 PhD Sociology (Cardiff University, ESRC 1+3 Quota Award Studentship)
2005 MSc Social Science Research Methods (Cardiff University)
2004 BSc/Econ (Hons.) Sociology and Criminology (Cardiff University)
Other positions and affiliations
Visiting Fellowship, "GenZ Project", Oulu University, Spring 2023
Exceptional Visiting Fellow, CeMoRe, Lancaster University, Spring 2016
Visiting Scholar, City University New York, Graduate Centre
Visting Lecturer, Beijing Normal Univeristy
Fellow of Higher Education Academy
Honours and awards
My book (co-edited with Richard Fitzgerald and William Housley), On Sacks: Methods, Materials, and Inspirations was nominated for the 2021 ASA EMCA Section Distinguished Book Award.
An article (co-authored with Tom Hall), 'Care and repair and the politics of urban kindness' nominated for the 2015 SAGE Prize for Excellence and/or Innovation.
Nominated for Enriching Student Life Awards "Most uplifting member of staff" 2013/4; 2014/5; 2018/19; 2022/23; and "Outstanding Doctoral Supervisor" 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2022/23.
Professional memberships
Memberships
- British Sociological Association
- International Sociological Association
- American Sociological Association
- Higher Education Academy
Affiliations
- MOBSIN (Mobilities and Social Interaction; Aalborg, Cardiff, Helsinki, Linkoping, Paris Telecom, and Oulu universities)
- IIEMCA (International Institute for Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis)
- Centre for Mobilities Research (CeMoRe)
- ANNSoR (Anglo-Nordic Network; founding member)
- Public Space Research Group (City University, New York)
Supervisions
I am interested in supervising doctoral projects concerned with:
- Interaction(s) in public space
- Mobility practices and mobile scenes
- Ethnography of urban settings/groups
- Studies of everyday and institutional talk
Past projects
Jonathan Ablitt (ESRC): urban patrol, repair, waste, urban parks
Zoe John (ESRC): MMA, embodiment, gender, power
Matthew Howell (ESRC): institutional cultures and homeless hostels
Joseph Williams (ESRC): homelessness and politics of care provision in New York
Mark Berry (Dawes Scholarship): organised crime and drug dealing in "Red City"
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- ethnography
- ethnomethodology
- mobilities
- membership categorisation analysis
- Public space
