Leisure Preferences
The hypothesis of the study revolves around the extent to which leisure preferences are connected with a person's personality, affective style, and motivational orientation. Specifically, the research question asks to what extent leisure preferences are connected to the internal characteristics of an individual, and also how these are affected by gender and ethnicity.
II the population consisted of eight groups of male and female college students, including African-American, Asian-American, European-American, and Hispanic-American students.
III the sample was selected by giving undergraduate students from three Midwestern universities the opportunity to volunteer for participation, with the incentive of extra credit. The sample size came to 999 students, who were representative of lower- and upper-division classes, with some involved in leisure studies, with others studying general education courses. Of the total sample, 57% were male, 43% female, 27% African-American, 10% Asian-American, 54% European-American, and 9% Hispanic-American.
IV Data were collected via questionnaire instruments provided to participants in a packet. These were distributed in group settings. Participating individuals were available at all times to provide clarification or answer questions if needed. Completed packets were returned to the investigator.
Specifically, questionnaire instruments included open-ended questions inviting participants to provide their leisure activity preferences. Responses typically provided at least three items that students enjoyed during their leisure time. These were clustered into seven activity categories, including General Interest, Health/Fitness, Outdoor, performing Arts, Water Activities/Aquatics, Sports/Athletics, and Social.
The research design was Pre-experimental, as the study was conducted via static group comparisons between groups of different genders and ethnicity.
VI the response rate was 100%, but two packets had to be discarded as a result of incomplete information.
VII Barnett, Lynn a (2006). "Accounting for Leisure Preferences from Within: The Relative Contributions of Gender, Race or Ethnicity, Personality, Affective Style, and Motivational Orientation." Journal of Leisure Research, Fourth Quarter. Database: FindArticles. Available at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3702/is_200610/ai_n17193796/pg_1
