Experience sampling designs (in situ assessments) are part of a general diversification from traditional research methods within the social sciences. Such designs provide a nem perspective and allow exploration of research questions emerging from recreation benefits literature. The need for experience sampling designs in recreation and leisure exists because: (1) they distinguish between questions about situations and questions about persons; and (2) their minimum reliance on information associated with the inaccuracies of human memory and cognitive processing. Because of their focus on the present moment, ESM-related designs provide information about recreation situations largely inaccessible with traditional techniques.