I googled sociological definition of identity and got two replies that I liked. Wikipedia supplied one definition and Oxford bibliographies the second. The Google definition was “In psychology, sociology and anthropology, identity is the conception, qualities beliefs, and expressions that make a person (self-identity) or group (such as national identity and cultural identity) different from others”

The Oxford Bibliographies “outlined four identity theories typically employed by social psychologist: personal identity, role identity, social identity and collective identity.Social identity is “emphasizes how a person’s cognition, affect, and personality traits affect immediate person-to-person social interactions and vice versa. It is part of an individual’s self-concept formed through the knowledge of his or her membership in meaningful social groups and organizations (e.g., Kiwanis Club, the Cleveland City Club) and categories (e.g., Native American, northerner). Personal identity is “what makes every person unique, defining them through their specific biographies (e.g. name, birthplace), unique characteristics (e.g., intelligent, athletic), role identities (e.g., daughter, employee), and particular combination of private and public experiences.

I used the ERIC location from educational sources(EBSCOhost) of the Shatford library to get additional sources for authentic voice. The first is “Authentic Multiculturalism and Nontraditional Students: Voices from the “Contact Zone”” by Juan Flores (1995) Cultural Studies, Literary Canon. The second is “Memoir Writing: Evoking the Authentic Voice.” By Ellen M. Shull. (1991) Writing Groups.

I used google to find a additional source for authentic voice titled