BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.13, No.2, 2023 1723 

 

 

 

 

Who Benefits More from Online Learning: 

An Empirical Study on Online Knowledge Sharing 

Behavior in Postgraduates 

By Sun, C. Y., Liu, J. A., & Xu, Y. R. 
Correspondence to: Ji’an Liu, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. 

E-mail: jian.liu@ucas.ac.cn  

N the digital era, online knowledge sharing is a crucial link in individual 

development. Postgraduates are potentially core members of the future 

knowledge society. The research into the factors influencing online 

knowledge sharing behavior of postgraduates can provide implications for 

promoting equality in their utilization of digital dividends. Is there a “second-

level digital divide” among postgraduates? If yes, which of them benefit 

more from it? 

Despite the restriction of Covid-19 prevention and control, this study 

attempted to gather data via both online and offline channels. Researchers 

encouraged postgraduates to respond to a questionnaire that would take them 

8-12 minutes to complete, both by posting it on campus forums in Chinese 

universities as well as on those popular virtual academic community plat-

forms such as Zhihu and Economic Management and by distributing it of-

fline in classrooms of general graduate courses and laboratories. Respondents 

were asked to complete the Information Literacy Scale, the Online 

Knowledge Sharing Behavior Scale, and the Background Information Sheet 

(items presented in random order). From April to June 2021, 642 responses 

were obtained, of which 501 were valid, constituting 78.04% of the total re-

sponses. The average age of the respondents was 25.56 years old, and the 

sample had balanced distribution in all categories and showed good repre-

sentativeness. 

Research conclusions include that: (i) the individual ability factor (in-

formation literacy) has a significant impact on the online knowledge sharing 

behavior of postgraduates, with a greater effect on the quantity of online 

knowledge sharing than on its quality; (ii)  structural factors (gender, school 

type, urban or rural origin, paternal occupation, paternal education level) also 

have prominent effects on online knowledge sharing behavior of postgradu-

ates, with a stronger impact on the quality of online knowledge sharing than 

on its quantity; (iii) structural factors influence various dimensions of infor-

mation literacy of graduate students differently, with the greatest impact on 

their information discrimination competence; (iv) the effects of structural 

I 

mailto:jian.liu@ucas.ac.cn


 

Vol.13, No.2, 2023 1724 

factors on online knowledge sharing behavior of postgraduates are partially 

mediated by the individual ability factor, as individuals who are more advan-

taged in terms of structural factors show higher levels of information literacy 

and thus have more active and higher-quality online knowledge sharing be-

haviors. 

 

 

Source: Journal of East China Normal University, 2023; 2023(2):25-37.