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Karla A. Henderson and M. Deborah Bialeschki are the co-editors of Leisure Sciences. Leisure Sciences is published five times a year by Taylor and Francis. The focus of the journal is in using interdisciplinary approaches to add to the body of knowledge about leisure and leisure behavior. Topics related to such areas as outdoor recreation, tourism, sports, arts, physical activity, disabilities studies, aging, and community development are welcome but the essence of the articles should show how the research contributes to leisure theory.
Guidelines for authors can be found at: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/01490400.asp

All manuscripts should be sent electronically to Karla Henderson: (karla_henderson@ncsu.edu)

A new addition to the journal is a “Research Reflections” section. Researchers are invited to write a reflective essay on some area of leisure research that will provoke interest in promoting research about leisure. The guidelines include the following:

“Research Reflections” and Leisure Sciences

Have you ever wished you had a forum to critically address an issue or idea of importance to recreation and leisure researchers without the restrictions of the traditional research article format? The Co-editors of Leisure Sciences are offering a “Research Reflections” section of the journal for writers who want an opportunity to submit personal or narrative essays on topics of interest to the readers of the journal. According to Williams (1951, p.11), "the minimum definition of an essay [is] that it is a piece of prose... The essayist's usual role is that of the social philosopher, the critic, the annotator.” The purpose of an essay in “Research Reflections” is to present a persuasive and logical argument from the perspective of the author. The argument should use a central theme that is developed into provocative insights. The essay format offers writers opportunities to convey their ideas to others with conviction and passion without the “objective unbiased” standpoint of traditional research articles.
The process for publication will be to query the Co-editors with an idea by providing a general description of the topic and argument in about 200 words. If the topic seems appropriate, you will be invited to submit the essay for review by the Co-editors who will make the final decision about publication.

The following guidelines will be used for the essays:
• Topic “invited” by Co-editors
• Essay limited to 3000 words
• Applicable APA guidelines followed
• The essay is:
o Relevant– topic must be of importance to leisure researchers and the materials in the essay must stay focused on the argument proposed
o Accurate – although opinions are important in the essay, any factual information must be accurate and documented
o Clear – the writer should leave no doubt within the essay regarding their position about the topic
o Challenging – the essay should provide critically thoughtful perspectives that may challenge traditional status-quo views or raise awareness about leisure research.
• The essay will be considered an invited paper and the essayists will work directly with the Co-editors to complete the essay in a timely manner.

We hope that the “Research Reflections” opportunity will offer Leisure Sciences readers a new format in the form of an essay for sharing their perspectives on leisure research.

For additional information or to send a query, contact Dr. M. Deborah Bialeschki at moon@email.unc.edu.