This article is a reflection on interactions that took place during a qualitative study in Cameroon on a divisive subject : the morning-after pill. The obstacles encountered in the field stemmed mainly from the fact that the inquiry subjects confused this pill with abortion, which is against the law. This text deals with the effects of systems representing the object being examined, both on data collection and on how the researcher was perceived by others, especially when informants identified the researcher with the object of study, with how roles were assigned to the researcher and with the difficulties experienced by the researcher from proximity to the field.