A Methodological Review of Research inJournal of Leisure ResearchFrom 1978 to 1982

A review was undertaken to examine the methodological adequacy of research articles that applied quantitative techniques and were published in Journal of Leisure Research from 1978 to 1982. The methodological quality of reported research has undergone some change since 1978 — a trend toward improvement was evidenced on about one-half of the criteria used for the review. Nevertheless, severe shortcomings still exist. Reported research would benefit if studies were among other things: theory dominated, balanced in terms of adopting experimental, quasi-experimental or qualitative (rather than entirely survey research) methods, and used valid and reliable measures.