Leisure Research Paper
Have you ever wondered about how work and leisure is changing in our society? Perhaps you have wondered what the therapeutic recreation opportunities are for people with disabilities or what types of leisure services are available to the aging or newcomer population in Canada. Or perhaps you have been thinking of pursuing a career in municipal recreation in your home community. Or maybe you have come across the newer areas like food tourism or international sport for development. If you have wondered about anything related to recreation and leisure, then this assignment is your opportunity to research and explore!
Objective
For this assignment, you will research a topic of your choice and write an analytical research paper. This type of research paper is one that starts with a research question in which you have no stance or position (note: your stance or position will more than likely take shape through the process of researching). Your goal is to then present the information you have found on the topic and offer a critical interpretation of the knowledge you have found about your topic.
For hints about what an analytical research paper is, please explore the following link:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/research_papers/genre_and_the_research_paper.html
How to complete your Leisure Research Paper
To complete this paper, you will identify a topic of your choice related to recreation and/or leisure. You will research the topic, explain it and then critically examine it utilizing knowledge presented in the course, the assigned textbook, and academic and non-academic resources. For this assignment you will need a minimum of 3 sources. These 3 sources must include at least 2 academic peer-reviewed journal articles and at least 1 non-academic source such as a website, newspaper article, youtube video etc. (Hint – at the end of each chapter is a list of references. This is a good place to start to look for academic sources.)
You will be graded on your understanding of the information presented and your ability to connect this information to the concepts of recreation and leisure, the various socio-cultural issues and/or various topics presented in the course and/or the textbook.
You are free to choose your topic. Popular topics in the past have included but are certainly not limited to:
- Therapeutic leisure and recreation services and programs for Canada’s aging population
- Leisure experiences related to youth, new Canadians or minority populations
- The ways funding affects national/provincial programs related to recreation services or sport programs
- Volunteerism and its role in the provision of recreation and leisure services in Canada
- Sport development versus sport for development in Canadian and/or International contexts
- Issues in tourism and sustainable tourism; food tourism, adventure tourism, eco-tourism
- Outdoor recreation and Indigenous land-based education
The following is a list of journals available online (You do not have to draw your articles from these journals, however, they are a good place to start your research)
- Leisure/Loisir
- Leisure Sciences
- Leisure Studies
- Journal of Leisure Research
- Annals of Leisure Research
- Therapeutic Recreation Journal
- Annals of Tourism Research
- Sport in Society
- Sociology of Sport Journal
- Leisure and Society/Loisir et Société
Format:
The essay must be a minimum of 4 pages and up to a maximum of 6 pages in length and must also include a separate title and reference page. (In other words, 4-6 pages plus a title page and a reference page) double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, saved in Microsoft Word, Apple Pages or as a PDF.
Essays must be written in complete sentences and paragraphs. Point form will not be accepted.
For this assignment you will need a minimum of 3 sources. These 3 sources must include at least 2 academic peer-reviewed journal articles and at least 1 non-academic source such as a website, newspaper article, youtube video etc. (Hint – at the end of each chapter is a list of references. This is a good place to start to look for academic sources) Electronic peer-reviewed journals (E-journals)
Essays must use the American Psychological Association’s (APA) guidelines for in-text citations and references. Please see the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th Edition) for specific details
