The one-way mirror of leisure research: A need for cross-national social scientific perspectives

The modernization of the world economy and information systems leads, presumably, to globalization in all areas, including leisure research. To explore this idea, the level of cross-national research published in leading leisure-science journals, including the Journal of Leisure Research, Leisure Sciences, and Leisure Studies was examined. F ollowing the dramatic shift toward globalization in the past 20 years, it was assumed leisure-science research would reflect an increase in cross-national research published. Using content analysis, 1352 published articles were reviewed and just 20 (1.5%) of these were cross-national. Reasons for this pattern are discussed, along with a call for scholars in the leisure sciences to shift toward a more international perspective.