Naked truths: Towards a reflexive methodology in leisure research

In this article, I critically reexamine what it means to be a qualitative l eisure researcher Specifically I discuss three areas in which I believe the influence of positivism has distanced and detached us, thereby threatening the quality of our work. I address our failure to recognize and account fo r the role that our human "selves" play throughout the research process and how those selves subsequently shape our products; our failure to recognize and account for the role our emotions and personal experiences play in our research endeavors; and our specific data-collection and writing styles, w hich tend to adhere more to positivist ideals regarding how research should be conducted and reported. I argue that those things that are thought to b e problematic in science need not be, and I propose that we adopt a reflexi ve methodology in leisure studies, a qualitative methodology more in keepin g with the theoretical orientations with which we profess to be working.