Forty-two individual-level questionnaires and five focus groups were administered in each of six case study districts, yielding a total sample size of 252 for the survey and thirty focus groups. The six case study districts were Lusaka Urban, Luanshya, Livingstone, Mongu, Kasama, and Chipata (see Figure B.1). These districts were chosen because they offered variation in urban/rural location and because they constitute urban/rural pairs with the same dominant language groups, thereby making it possible to assess the effects of urban/rural location while controlling for language. Lusaka Urban, Luanshya, and Livingstone are all urban districts located on Zambia's industrial rail line. Mongu, Kasama, and Chipata are overwhelmingly rural districts, though they all contain the administrative headquarters of their respective provinces. Kasama and Luanshya are both Bemba-speaking. Chipata and Lusaka Urban are both principally Nyanja-speaking. Mongu and Livingstone are both Lozi-speaking.

Measuring Ethnic Identities and Attitudes

Collecting reliable data on respondents' ethnic attachments and attitudes about ethnic politics is fraught with methodological obstacles. The simple-minded solution of simply asking respondents “who they are” or “what they think” about the role that ethnicity plays in political life is undermined by the fact that individuals possess multiple ethnic identities – they “are” many things – and the salience of each identity varies with the context in which the respondents are asked to reflect on who they are and what it means to them.