Researchers without prior involvement in the studied group have demonstrated an ability to conduct ethnopharmacological research in general and studies of steroid use in particular. However, this paper highlights how an insider identity -- imputed to the researcher by the researched and presented by the researcher during fieldwork -- might facilitate social access. On the other hand, the researched may rely on shared background expectancies when interacting with the researcher, thus failing to clarify the sense of their everyday remarks. Also, the researcher who is somewhat familiar with aspects of the cultural scene may fail in the programmatic task of treating members’ practical circumstances as matters of theoretic interest. Also, there is the issue of advocacy, where the researcher may simply celebrate the studied collectivity without reference to the more “deviant” aspects of the culture. These methodological issues are clearly significant for those reflexive ethnographers who have moved away from the more marginally involved role of the traditional participant observer. References