You need to understand that there are many courses (classroom and online)
and many books that discuss the topic of database design in some fashion. No
one can possibly be aware of all of them or even a large percentage of them.
And even if I was familiar with all of the courses and books, I couldn't
recommend the best one for YOU because I don't know you or how you learn
best. Everyone has their own best way of learning and what works well for me
might not work very well at all for you - and vice versa.

Despite that, I'm going to suggest an example of a classroom course that
looks like it might be good, an online course that will give you at least
some of the basics, and some information in the Information Center about
where you can find some information close at hand. I have reservations about
each of these sources but it's the best I can do for you in the limited time
I have to devote to your question.

First, a classroom course. Since I am in Canada, I went to the IBM website
for Canada and tracked down a database design course. Here is the URL:
http://www-304.ibm.com/jct03001c/services/learning/ites.wss/ca/en?pageType=cours
e_description&courseCode=BA161CE

I have not taken this course and I have not seen the course materials but
that description of the course sounds like exactly the things I think you
need to do your job well. I would strongly recommend a course that covers
these topics as the most efficient way of you getting up to speed quickly.
It sounds to me as if you will learn at least the principles of everything
you need to know about database design in just two days. If the course
includes exercises where you do real database designs, it would be even
better. I don't feel very confident in what I've learned until I have
practiced it under the eye of someone, like the instructor, who knows what
they are doing. On the other hand, you may be confident after hearing the
concepts explained, even if you don't get to practice in class.

Now, the remarks at the bottom of the page say that this is a
"Canadian-owned offering". I assume this means it was developed by IBM in
Canada and that it may not be available in other countries - I thik most
courses developed by IBM are available in all the other countries where IBM
operates - but they give you a phone number to call if you're interested.
So, if you call that number, you may find some way of getting that course in
your country. IBM is doing a lot with distance-learning and web-based
learning these days so it may be possible to take this course online somehow
or via a CD. Or maybe your employer will let you go to Canada to take this
course.

Second, an online course. There are many online courses on the subject of
database design. I spent most of an afternoon a couple of years ago looking
at the first several that turned up in a Google search but never found one I
really liked. I did another Google search just now on "Database design" and,
after rejecting the first few, found this link, which isn't too bad, at
least from my point of view. I have no idea whether it will suit you:
http://databases.about.com/od/specificproducts/a/normalization.htm

This site has a number of short articles on database topics. The "Database
Normalization Basics" article seems like a good place to start. You will
need to read several of the "Related Articles" as well, such as
"Introducting Keys", "First Normal Form", "Second Normal Form", and "Third
Normal Form". In fact, pretty much all of the articles in the "Database
Fundamentals" section of the index on the left of the page would be worth
your time to read. This site is not particularly well-organized and you will
have to hop around a bit to find all of these articles but if you keep your
eye on the index and the "Related Articles", you should eventually find all
of the articles on database design.

Third, don't forget the DB2 Information Center. If you launch the DB2
Information Center, then click on the "Designing" link in the main index and
expand the "Database Systems" entry by clicking on the + sign, you will see
sections for "Database system overview", "Logical database design", and
"Physical database design". If you read through the articles in those
sections, particularly logical database design, you will get an overview of
what you need to know. I find the presentation of the key ideas in these
topics quite rushed and I'm not sure I would learn them very well if they
were my first and only exposure to this information. But it's a place to
start or maybe it's a place to review the essentials once you've learned the
material elsewhere.

Lastly, "Google is your friend". If you do Google searches on terms like
"database design", "normalization", "logical database design", "Entity
Relationship Diagram" and other terms that you will see in the other sources
I've given you, you should find lots of useful information. Some of it will
be poorly explained but you can probably skip over those and concentrate on
the ones that communicate clearly TO YOU.

You really need to get a clear understanding of database design if you are
going to have any real chance of building good databases. I urge you to do
as much as you can to learn database design as a very high priority; I think
it will be fundamental to doing the rest of your job well.

--
Rhino