This appendix describes how I sampled and coded reports of media dissent and party discipline employed in Chapters 5 and 8.

Sample selection

I tracked media dissent and party discipline through several major dailies in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, trying to balance the needs for regional coverage and quality reporting.

• Reports of media dissent and party discipline in Australia were tracked in three sources: (1) Sydney Morning Herald – the major source; (2) The Age (Melbourne) – for Victorian MPs and Senators; (3) West Australian (for West Australian MPs and Senators). MPs' names were used as search terms in each database. Newspaper stories appearing between 1 May 1996 and 30 September 1998 were coded for dissent and duplicates weeded out.

• Canadian media dissent and party discipline reports were tracked in the following sources: (1) Southam Newspapers (Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald, Winnipeg Free Press, Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, and Halifax Daily News); (2) Globe and Mail; (3) La Presse. As in the Australian case, MPs' names were used as search terms in the above databases. The Canadian sampling frame dated from 5 November 1993 to 30 April 1997. The Canadian media databases were more flexible than the Australian databases (primarily because Southamowns newspapers in a number of urban centres) and permitted more geographically sensitive searches. I could, for example, search for a Quebec MP's name in the Montreal Gazette or La Presse instead of relying solely on the Globe and Mail (essentially the Canadian counterpart to the Sydney Morning Herald).