The expression “being good or looking good” does not only highlight a tension between presented images of how an organization works and how it actually works, but also indicates that an aim to look good can have a negative impact on how an organization will work and evolve. In fact, when an organization has a strong aim to “look good” there is a risk that significant problems will be hidden or mitigated, and therefore remain unchanged. Various forms of inquiries, and even research, can contribute to create a good impression of an organization, and can be part of an organization’s image promoting strategies. We address a research gap in this paper by exploring how organizational image promoting may form, influence and can be prerequisite for how research and inquiries are done and presented, and how a pressure to build a good image of an organization affect the possibilities to develop the organization. By using several examples we aim to demonstrate various outcomes and dilemmas both for researchers doing research in an organization that puts a great effort in image promoting and for organizations with such an aim. The organization in focus for this paper is the Swedish police.