Also, you may use Google to find about the stuff. Other great sources of info are the component suppliers making switchmode converter chips. (For example www.linear.com/ , www.st.com , www.national.com and many others) Look for both data sheets and application notes - they give a good starting point.
In general, designing such a converter may seem easy due to many design examples available, but a beginner may have really big trouble with the basic PWB design rules, properties of capacitors and inductors, and regulating feedback loop stability. Read carefully the application notes, and try to understand also the passive component properties and do not change/substitute those without understanding what is critical. Otherwise you may generate more smoke than anything else...