Possibilities for Using A Qualitative Research Approach In The Sociological Study of Leisure

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Abstract
This paper suggests that a psychological definition of leisure as a condition, experience, or state of mind may be used by leisure sociologists as a spring board for meaningful inquiry. Further, if researchers accept Kelly's (1982, p. 276) contention that, “The significant issue is not so much what people do as how they do it and what it means [italics added] to them,” then it may also be argued that qualitative approaches to research are well suited for studying certain questions about leisure. Patton's (1980, p. 20) “paradigm of choices” is suggested as a continuum of differing research methods for differing research questions and situations. Examples of leisure research that have used qualitative approaches are given to illustrate this.