Measuring leisure in the 21st century: The strengths and limitations of three techniques

Abstract The strengths and limitations of three techniques for measuring leisure—the Perceived Freedom in Leisure Scale (PFL), an open‐ended interview, and experience sampling method (ESM)—were assessed in this investigation. Three profiles of leisure were developed using these techniques, and in a collaborative exit interview, each participant rated each profile on perceived accuracy. Each participant also rated the questions and items associated with each technique on how relevant they were to his/her leisure, and provided verbal explanations, as well. The open‐ended interview and the ESM results were perceived to be accurate to very accurate, while the PFL was rated as less than somewhat accurate.