This article is based on the first chapter of a new book, Clinical Epidemiology: How to Do Clinical Practice Research, which is about designing and conducting practical research in clinical settings. The background for the book is described in another article in this issue [1]. The article begins with a clinical research scenario that provides a behind-the-scenes look at our own research. We’ve taken this approach in part to elucidate, illustrate, and titillate, but mostly to keep this as an unvarnished account of real research rather than a theoretically pristine but unattainable counsel of perfection.