Joint Reviews form the crown of the regulatory apparatus in social services in England and Wales, and reviewers have crafted an impressive methodology to investigate the workings of social services authorities. My aim in this article is to expose and explore the social processes underpinning this methodology, drawing upon interviews with people on both sides of the regulatory fence and an ethnographic study of Joint Reviews in action. I shall discuss the cultural politics of regulatory research and demon strate the ways in which communications and interpretations in the field can be con structed, confused, and contested. This is not an argument against regulation but rather a quest for greater reflexivity in regulation and research.