The phrase 'rather than identifying' is correct and can be used in written English.
It can be used when someone would rather do one thing instead of another. For example: "I'd rather spend my time exploring new interests rather than identifying the source of the problem."
During the research stage, the emphasis was completely on identifying problems rather than identifying existing solutions.
Torre, instead, will make his decisions daily, rather than identifying a specific platoon.
But they tend to address immediate symptoms rather than identifying and tackling deep-seated issues.
Even the performance style made it clear that actors were representing, rather than identifying with, particular characters.
Tracked down through Instagram direct message – their preferred medium – they respond as one, rather than identifying their separate voices.
Rather than identifying a single element and elevating it to represent the whole, we've tried to capture the whole itself.
Yahoo has frustrated shareholders with its overreliance on cost-cutting rather than identifying new areas for innovation and growth.
Rather than identifying with her as someone facing a shared oppression, they seem to have dismissed her as a privileged beneficiary of a status quo they hated.
Bland, speaking at the Royal Television Society Cambridge convention on Thursday, said the NAO was too focused on "whether they get a headline" rather than identifying best practice.
Rather than identifying paths that avoid collisions and adhering to them, it identifies paths that introduce collisions and seals them off.
Later in the article, the word "insurgents" is used, rather than identifying who is meant or what they had done, while other groups are clearly identified.
