This article developed a multi-methods approach in the particular branch of
Communication Studies (fandom studies) to understand transcultural fans' engagement. It has creatively deployed three research methods to unpack the Chinese fans of a British TV series- Sherlock. Research methods of autoethnography, netnography and qualitative interviews have been largely employed to test the loyalty of the author as an acafan (an academic/scholar who is also a fan), Chinese fans' online activity and fans' self-disclosure as a self-claimed fan. The multi-methods worked effectively to help draw the conclusion that a significant percentage of self-claimed fans do not qualify as fans in the sense defined by the relevant existing literature. The creative combination of three methods greatly facilitated the future research of fan studies to identify fans as a
focal point of the research.