Number/percentage of members who express sense of identification with a group

Indicator Number: 
71

Category: 

Logic Model Component: 

Data Type(s): 
Count, proportion, qualitative
Short Definition: 
Measures the number/percentage of particpants who report a sense of identificaiotn with a group, where identification refers to sense of belonging and inclusion
Definition and Explanation (Long): 
This indicator measures the number/percentage of members who report a sense of identification with a group, where identification refers to sense of belonging and inclusion (Chiu, Hsu, & Wang, 2006).
Data Requirements: 
Self-reported quantitative data; self-reported qualitative data describing identification with group
Data Sources: 
Surveys, in-depth interviews
Frequency of Data Collection: 
Periodically (before, during, and after specific activities)
Purpose: 
The aim of this indicator is to gauge the extent to which members identify with a group and feel a sense of belonging to a group. Virtual communities stay together by virtue of the connections that community members have with one another and their shared areas of interest (Ardichvili et al., 2003.). Identification with a group is positively associated with the quantity of knowledge shared but not with quality of knowledge shared (Chiu et al., 2006).
Issues and Challenges: 
While identification may increase the quantity of knowledge shared, it did not have a positive influence on the quality of knowledge (Chiu et al., 2006). Further research is required to better understand how identification impacts both knowledge quality and quantity in networks that use both online and face-to-face modalities for knowledge sharing.

Published Year: 

  • 2017
Last Updated Date: 
Wednesday, December 13, 2017