graduate program: Human Resource Development

HRD-Related Web Sites

Xavier HRD students and alumni are provided information on the Internet that may be of interest to them in their professional and academic endeavors. The use of the Internet for research and practice in HRD is changing daily. There are hundreds of links to worthwhile HRD sites already out there. This list is meant to be a summary of some of the highlights of using the Internet, and to give Xavier students and alumni a head start on finding their way through the Web.

If you find sites that are particularly helpful or are good examples of internet-based training, e-mail gardner@xavier.edu. We will be updating the pages often and want to put your practitioner experience to good use.

Click on the section below to jump to that topic.

What is the Internet & the World Wide Web?

Begun in 1969 by the Department of Defense to transfer data to remote computer sites, the Internet has grown exponentially from 200 computers in the early 1980's to over 50 million users worldwide. The Internet is not run by any one person or organization, but there is an Internet Engineering Task Force that meets regularly to review guidelines and protocol. Basically, the net links computers in the same office, same building, same city, same state, with computers anywhere in the world that have access to the Internet. The term web refers to the method of document linking. Every document is interlinked to other pages on the local site or to another different Web site.

Users can access this Web through a service provider, such as America Online, Prodigy or CompuServe. See the list at the end of this document for smaller, Cincinnati-based service providers. These organizations provide you access to the Web for usually a monthly fee; some only allow you to send and receive e-mail but don't allow you to browse the World Wide Web (WWW).

These service providers allow you to access the Web with a browser that will take you to the Web sites of interest to you. These browsers make it possible for you to view the Web sites either in graphic or only text form. Mosaic and Netscape Navigator are two popular browsers. If you type in a URL (Universal Resource Locator), also called Web address such as: www.xavier.edu/hrd, your browser will take you to that site. You can click your mouse on a highlighted word, phrase or image and the hyperlink can take you to another Web page.

The Web site URL or address can give you a clue to the type of site it is; the domain in the address (the unique name that identifies an Internet site) has two or more parts separated by dots; the first part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right is most general. If the part on the right ends in .com, it means the site is run by a commercial organization; .edu = education; .gov = government; .mil = military; .net = network organization; .org = other organization (such as a professional association, non-profit), and there are also country codes such as .uk for the United Kingdom.

The foundation for these Web pages is HTML (HyperText MarkUp Language), which allows the Web pages to display on either Mac's or PC's and link with each other. 

Training on the Internet

Why is all this hullabaloo about the Internet so important to HRD professionals? For information dissemination and just-in-time training on computer-appropriate topics, the accessibility of the Internet can't be beat. To keep in touch with what is happening in the field of HRD, the Internet can't be beat. As a resource and supplement to HRD activities such as training, Web sites can enhance and reinforce instruction. For an brief overview of training on the Internet, see "Training Via the Internet: Where Are We?" in Training & Development, May 1996, pages 51-55.

In addition to courses that are linked to different organizations, company-wide Intranets which are internal training networks, can be developed to facilitate information sharing and course implementation; the Intranet may be accessed and look the same as an Internet browser, but it would be restricted to that organization's users or subset of users. Company announcements, training registration, policies and procedure manuals updates, employee data banks, internal job postings and training manuals are all common applications of Intranet use. See The Complete Intranet Resource at www.intrack.com/intranet/ for lots of resources, articles and case studies.

An excellent free tutorial on how to use the Internet to design instruction was developed by Dr. James Kirk at Western Carolina University's HRD program and can be found at www.ceap.wcu.edu/kirk/Help/helpdir.htm. A free tutorial on using the Internet in general is at www.healthymoney.com/, and a glossary of Internet terms at www.matisse.net/files/

"A Trainer's Guide to the World Wide Web & Intranets" by Wendy Webb (no, I don't know if that's a real name), 1996, Lakewood Publications, is a quick-and-dirty overview of how HRD can use the Internet effectively. It also offers case examples of training courses and most popular HRD sites.

Knowledge of, and using, the Internet is not an optional activity anymore for HRD professionals. Organizations whose HRD staff are not interested in researching potential uses of the Internet may find themselves co-opted out of jobs by the information systems people. Clearly, the Internet is not an answer for all HRD issues in an organization, but the potential advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet need to be explored. 

Searching the Web

There are a number of general search engines available that can help you find Web sites on virtually any topic, anywhere in the world. Just as knowing how to best organize yourself for research on library databases, learning how to most efficiently and effectively search the Web using one of the search engines available is an art. It takes time and practice. You will get different results using the same keywords with the different search engines, and at different times! The following are brief descriptions developed by Dr. Jerry Braun at Xavier of the most common general search engines:

  • Yahoo (www.yahoo.com/) is a popular directory search engine; easy to use. Searches Yahoo database only; categorizes search; local and national Yahoos available. Options: and/or; substrings; listings per page; time period.
  • Lycos (www.lycos.com/) is also very popular. Comprehensive and has options: sites by subject; pictures; sounds.
  • Infoseek (www.infoseek.com/) provides a directory and is fairly comprehensive. Options: search selected site; e-mail addresses.
  • AltaVista (www.altavista.digital.com/) searches the entire Web and returns extensive list of hits (number of sites discovered), but the highest-ranking hits are not always the most relevant. It supports case sensitivity and the use of "and/or".
  • Excite (www.excite.com) has options to search Web site reviews, has a comprehensive Help function, and advanced search options.
  • MetaCrawler (www.metacrawler.com/index.html) is a search engine that searches 9 other engines at one time.

You might want to look at Spiders Apprentice (www.monash.com/spidap.html) to learn about and how to use search engines; it is not one itself but provides tools for Web beginners. Xavier's McDonald Library (www.xavier.edu/library) also provides reviews of and access to the major search engines.

Here are some specific shortcuts to using some of the search engines specifically for topics related to HRD:

A very good book on the in's and out's of searching the Web is Internet Research Companion: Making the Right Connections & Discoveries by Geoffrey W. McKim, 1996, published by Que Education & Training, 201 W. 103rd St., Indianapolis, IN 46290.

Here are some of the research sites you can use to find journal articles and publications in HRD:

  • CARL/Uncover (www.carl.org) can be accessed through the Web or through Xavier's XPlore catalog. You can browse issues of their journals to see tables of content, or search with keywords. For a price, you can order articles, or go to the hard copies of the journals in the library to review articles.
  • ERIC, Educational Resources in Content (www.edrs.com) can provide abstracts of articles in journals or publications on microfilm available in the library.
  • Library of Congress (www.loc.gov) is also a good reference site.
  • Libweb (sunsite.berkeley.edu/Libweb/) has links to hundreds of libraries across the world, including UC and Wright State.
  • The World Wide Web Virtual Library: Education (www.csu.edu.au/) provides links to educational sites around the world that specialize in K-graduate education.
  • University of Cincinnati Library (www.libraries.uc.edu/) can be accessed directly through the Web or through Xavier's XPlore system.
  • Xavier's McDonald Library (www.xu.edu/library) can provide access to other library sites in Ohio and around the world. Expanded Academic Index, Business Index, and CARL/Uncover are available through the Web as well.

Links to Useful Sites for HRD Professionals

HRD professionals have a variety of roles and responsibilities, so it is difficult to pinpoint the Web sites that will be of interest to all. The following sites are those that may have more general appeal to people involved in training, organization development or career development, as well as some in the human resource management field. The URL addresses were accurate as of April 1997, but as you will find out, Web sites change and are added daily. (If you get the message that the server can’t be found, be sure to re-type the URL and try again; and if the URL contains a "1" (one) or an "l" (letter l), try reversing them--it may be difficult to distinguish the two!) If you find a site you want up-dated news from, try using the "Personal Web Robot" which notifies you when a particular Web page has changed. Go to www.netmind.com/html/url-minder.html and find out how to register. The Xavier HRD Program assumes no responsibility for the reliability or accuracy of the information contained at these sites, nor does a listing on this page constitute an endorsement of any product or company whose information might be reached through these links. This information is provided solely for the convenience of Xavier HRD students and HRD professionals.

Shouldn't Miss Sites

Here are some of the sites you might want to keep up-to-date with—they provide links to other HRD sites and are run by pretty reliable organizations and people. Add your own, but be sure to share them with us.

American Society for Training & Development (ASTD)

Society for Human Resource Management

TCM's Training & Development Resource Center

Training Supersite

Creative Training Techniques

The Training Net

The Education, Training, and Development Resource Center

Big Dog's HRD Page

Professional Organizations & Associations


Even if you are not a member of a professional association, many times you are able to access their web sites and use many of their services for free. Sometimes your member number is necessary to access databases or directories. The major associations of ASTD, SHRM, ISPI also have job databases that are open to all.

Academy of Human Resource Development

American Management Association

American Productivity & Quality Center

American Society for Training & Development

Association for Experiential Education

Greater Cincinnati Chapter of American Society for Training & Development

Greater Cincinnati Human Resource Association (GCHRA) — Local SHRM Chapter

International Federation of Training & Development Organizations

International Personnel Management Association
This organization sponsors conferences worldwide on HRD issues.

International Society for Performance Improvement

Organization Development Institute

Organization Development Network

Professional Society for Sales and Marketing Training

Society for Human Resource Management

United States Distance Learning Association
If you get heavily involved with delivery of courses via the Internet or satellite, look into this association. It's growing rapidly.

Publications

You might want to get on the mailing lists of some of the major publishers in the HRD field. Their Web sites, however, usually offer even more information about the new books/journals and may provide search services and links to other publishing sites.

Addison-Wesley

American Management Association

ASTD Publishing Service

Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Jossey-Bass

HRD Press

Lakewood Publications

Pfeiffer

Sage Publications

Wiley Publications


Journals/Magazines/Newsletters

Here are some periodicals that either offer on-line subscription (oftentimes for free) for full-text review or have abstracts of articles included on the web site.

Active Training Newsletter
Mel Silberman, author of Active Training, has free tips/exercises which might interest you.

Business Week Online
You can sign up for a free newsletter and review selected articles from Business Week.

Creative Training Techniques Newsletter
This on-line version usually contains one article from its monthly, paper newsletter.

The Distance Education Report
This journal has its table of contents on-line and you can subscribe for a fee for full-text on-line articles.

From Now On: The Educational Technology Journal
Although directed toward educational environments, this is an excellent, free on-line journal and might be valuable for HRD professionals interested in using educational technology in their classrooms.

Fortune Magazine
To keep up with business, this on-line version of Fortune Magazine offers selected articles full-text.

Harvard Business Review
Tables of contents of articles can be found here.

HR Magazine
Some full-text articles and the ability to search the database can be found here. Read the AHR Cyberspace@ article each month for up-to-date web info.

HR World
You can register for a free membership and review articles from HR/PC magazine.

HRD Quarterly
Abstracts of the current year's issues are available here.

IT Training Magazine
Selected articles group by subject matter, not issue are contained here.

MCB University Press
This British publisher has literally hundreds of journals whose tables of contents are able to be reviewed to determine relevant articles for HRD. The journals are expensive, but you can request copies of articles through interlibrary loan. The Journal of European Industrial Training is included, as well as many on management, human resources, personnel, training and development, organization learning and change. There are also 100 full-text on-line journals available for a fee, and you can get a 30-day free trial subscription.

OD Network Newsletter
The current issue of the ODN Newsletter is on-line, along with info on the OD Network.

Presentations
Lots of full-text articles on presentation technologies are available here.

Sloan Management Review
This respected journal has lengthy abstracts available on-line for free.

Technology for Learning Newsletter
Written by Eliot Masie, I find this newsletter to be one of the best to keep up-to-date with training via the Internet. The on-line version includes 1 or 2 articles, and you can order a free trial subscription.

Training
You can usually view 4-5 full-text articles from the current issue of Training here.

Training & Development
You can view tables of contents for the past two issues and about 10 full-text articles at this site. If you are a national ASTD member, you can sign-on and read all the articles.

Training Directors Forum Newsletter
This on-line version of the newsletter contains 1 or 2 articles of interest.

The Web Developer's Journal
If you're really into developing Web sites, this free on-line journal will give you lots of information and free software.

You might want to try this Web site to find other on-line journals of interest to you:

Directory of Electronic Journals, Newsletters & Academic Discussion Lists
Over 1700 journals are outlined and links provided here.


Listservs

A listserv is an automated mailing list that allows people to send e-mail to one address, but their message is copied and sent to all the other subscribers to the listserv. Listservs are organized around topics of interest, such as training, organization development, career development, etc. You have to "subscribe", but it is a free list. Some of the listservs generate 100's of mail messages per day, and you always have the option to unsubscribe. Read the instructions you get from the listserv after you subscribe; there are usually options to receive "digests" daily which are all the messages lumped in one mail message. Questions are posed, jobs are posted, reviews and discussions are commonplace. You don't need access to the World Wide Web to join a listserv; you only need an Internet e-mail address. Usually, you e-mail the listserv at the addresses below and in the text message, type sub name of list firstname lastname. The longest list of HRD listservs is available at www.tcm.com/trdev/. It also has rules/guidelines about discussion groups. A tool for finding listservs, as well as discussion groups called newsgroups, can be found at: www.liszt.com/.

ARLIST: Action Research List
E-mail arlist@request@psy.uq.oz.au. Subscribe ARLIST.

AEELIST: Association of Experiential Education Listserv
Address your e-mail message to listserv@pucc.princeton.edu. If you want to subscribe, the text message should read "subscribe aeelist".

BPR: Business Process Reengineering
mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk. Use "join" instead of "sub" BPR.

CARDEVNET: Organization Career Development Issues Network
cardevnel-request@world.std.com. Sub CARDEVNET.

CHANGE: Change & Leadership List
E-mail majordomo@mindspring.com. Sub CHANGE.

CREA-CPS: Creative Problem Solving List
E-mail listserv@nic.surfnet.nl. Sub CREA-CPS.

GRP-FACL: Group Facilitation Discussion List
E-mail listserv@cnsibm.albany.edu. Sub GRP-FACL.

HR-OD-L: Human Resource & Organization Development & Change Network
E-mail message to listserv@ksuvm.ksu.edu. The text message should read "subscribe hr-od-l firstname lastname".

HRD-L: Human Resources Planning & Development
E-mail majordomo@cybertouch.com. Sub HRD-L.

HRNET: Academy of Management HR List
E-mail listserv@cornell.edu. Sub HRNET. Or go to www.ilr.cornell.edu/depts/cahrs/hrnet.htm.


LDRSHP: Leadership Discussion List
E-mail ldrshp@iubvm.ucs.indiana.edu. Sub LDRSHP.

LEARNING-ORG: Learning Organization Discussion List
You can sign up for this listserv through its Web site at http://world.std.com/~lo/LOinfo.html To subscribe, you can also send an e-mail to majordomo@world.std.com. I like the flavor of this listserv.

MMEDIA-L: Multimedia in Education & Training
E-mail listserv@vm.cnuce.cnr.it

ODNET: OD Network Listserv
Address your e-mail message to majordomo@world.std.com If you want to subscribe, the text message should read "subscribe odnet".

QUALITY: TQM in Manufacturing & Industry
E-mail at listserv@pucc.princeton.edu. Sub QUALITY.


 

HRD Topics

In addition to the Web sites previously mentioned, the following are ones that I think might be of interest to you. This list is not intended to replace any of the more extensive lists available on HR/HRD topics. If you want more "lists of lists", go to Section (f), and remember to go to Section (a) for the "Shouldn't Miss Sites!"

Association for Psychological Type

Center for Human Resources

Center for Application of Psychological Types

Center for Management and Organization Effectiveness

Center for the Study of Work Teams

Change Technologies

Coaching Resources

Consultant Resource Center

Consulting Psychologists Press

Cornell University's School of Industrial & Labor Relations

Covey Leadership Center/Franklin Quest

Development Dimensions International (DDI)

The Dilbert Zone

Diversity

Diversity at Texas Instruments

Employee Attitude Form & HR Resources

EPSS (Electronic Performance Support Systems)

HR Pro's Gateway to the Internet/Eric Wilson's Home Page

Dr. James Kirk HRD Pages at Western Carolina University

Keirsey Temperament Surveys

Learning Organizations

The Masie Center (Elliot Masie's Technology Pages)

Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP)

New Horizons for Learning

OD Resources

Organization Effectiveness Interest Group

Performance Technology

Personality Tests on the WWW

Project Management & Instructional Development Resources

Team Processes

360 Degree Feedback

Training & Seminar Locators

Training Broker

Training Forum (speakers database, associations)

Training Information Source

Training Media Review

Training Registry

Workforce Online

Workplace Studies


 

Internet Topics

Here are a few sites on learning about the Internet or Internet-based learning. There are thousands out there, but a few basics will get you going.

The Complete Intranet Resource

Demo CBT Course

Instructional Uses of the Web

Intranet Journal with Live Demo

Learning over the Internet


 

My Favorite "Links to Links" Pages

As you will find by going to many of the Web sites mentioned at this site, there are usually pages that provide links and references to other sites of interest. The Xavier HRD Home Page is no different, and I hope you will continue to browse www.xavier.edu/hrd for links of interest. The following Web sites have very extensive pages of links to HR/HRD-related Web sites.

Academy of Human Resource Development
This site has links grouped around topics such as leadership, performance, diversity, etc., as well as general interest HRD sites.
 

Amer. Society for Training & Development Training & Performance Links
ASTD organizes its Web sites in areas such as international training organizations, learning theory & assessment tools, training basics, etc.

Big Dog's HRD Link Page
Don Clark keeps his 200 sites in HRD up-to-date.

Cornell University School of Industrial & Labor Relations
If you are in HR, you should really check out all of this school's sites. But this particular one has pages of links on every area of HR, including Training & Development, Career Development, HR Consulting, and Work Behavior.

CSWT Information Resources
This site, primarily organized about workteams, also has a page of good links.

HR-Guide.Com

HR Magazine

The April 1997 HR Cyberspace article lists HR's Top 10 Web sites.

HR Pro's Gateway to the Internet/Eric Wilson's Home Page
Another "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About HR but Were Afraid to Ask" site, it includes hundreds of links.

HRD Web Resources at Western Carolina University, Dr. James Kirk
Over 200 HRD sites are organized in categories such as career development, distance education, HRM, performance, etc.

Human Resource Management Basics
Craig Russell has organized his page of links into HR categories, including performance management, OD, diversity and training.

The Learning Exchange FAQs for the T & D Community
In addition to TCM having the most extensive pages of links, the FAQ in this site also includes organizations, resources, periodicals, books, listservs, all with e-mail or Web page links.

Navy Office of Training Technology
This is a "heavy" site which has great, specialized training sites and references. The military continues to invest heavily in training research.

Society for Human Resource Management
SHRM has loads of general and specialized HR links, but also has separate pages on education, training and development.

TCM
The entire site is loaded with information, but it also contains hundreds of links to other HRD sites.

Training Supersite
About 300 HRD sites (journals and newsletters, books and products, commercial, government, organizations, research tools, and training resources) are rated A+ to F.

Web-Based Training Related Links
This site has an extensive page of links to on-line training demos and courses.

Local Greater Cincinnati Area Internet Service Providers

Public and university libraries can give you access to the Internet, sometimes only to certain sites. And to do research for your job, your employer may have provided you with access. The following are companies in the Greater Cincinnati Area that provide a variety of services, some with access to the WWW, some only to e-mail. The major companies of America OnLine, CompuServe, Prodigy, are not included here. As always, I am not endorsing or recommending any of these services over another.
  • XU Net—CampusMCI, 888-445-7676

Final Words

The Internet has a lot to offer HRD professionals, but a few words of caution are in order. Many of the sites are commercial ones or organized by people who may not have a lot of experience in HRD. The major associations such as ASTD, SHRM, ISPI and the Academy of HRD have Web sites, so start with them. Sites are not reviewed by any neutral body, so use the Internet as a resource, but not a final word on what's current in HRD. Articles in respected HRD journals and magazines go through a rigorous review process, which is not the case for some of the writing out there on the Web. Be an informed consumer of what you read and use in your HRD practice.

Another caution: You can get hooked! The amount of time putting together this list was astronomical, so I hope it will cut down on many hours of searching that you might want to do. You could literally sit in front of the computer for 24 hours a day and still not visit all the sites in HR/HRD; each one leads to another, to another, ad infinitum. Keep referring to the HRD site to see changes, additions, or comments about the sites. And be sure to share with us what you learn as you become more expert in Internet research for HRD. Have fun!

Bibliography

I am only listing a few books here; the amount of publications out there on the Internet is quadrupling daily! The sites listed for learning about the Internet have lots of good references. The following books have been helpful to me:

Campbell, D., & Campbell, M. (1995). The student's guide to doing research on the internet. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Crispin, G., & Mehler, M. (2001). CareerXRoads: The 2001 directory to the 500 best job, resume and career management sites on the world wide web. Kendall Park, NJ: MMC Group.

McKim, G. W. (1996). Internet research companion. Indianapolis, IN: Que Education & Training.

Ray, D. S., & Ray, E. J. (1996). Dummies 101: HTML for windows users. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide.

Wodaski, R. (1996). Creating cool navigator gold web pages. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide.

Webb, W. (1996). A trainer's guide to the world wide web and intranets. Minneapolis, MN: Lakewood.