Book excerpt: The first accessible information on how to carry out veterinary clinical research. This book is an aid to increasing the quantity and quality of such research within veterinary clinical practice. Covering all the core research methods as well as aspects specific to veterinary medicine. Clinical research aims to optimize decision making in practice by answering questions on the best diagnostic options and treatments. Reading this book will help you take the intellectually rewarding step towards improving prognoses and outcomes through informed decisions. Special attention is given to ethical and legal issues, how to maximise the power of studies when faced with small numbers of patients, and how to go about research with few obvious resources to hand.