Abstract
The term “need” is frequently encountered in the literature relating to recreation research and planning, and yet only rarely is it defined with any degree of precision. Bradshaw's taxonomy of social need is used as a framework for a review and discussion of some of the literature relating to the problem of defining needs in the leisure field. It is argued that “need” can be defined only in a pluralistic sense and that if the term is used it should be clear from which perspective the writer is defining it. Some of the operational problems involved in the identification of particular types of need are also noted.

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