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Within education, the term 'research' is used in a multiplicity of ways. This paper draws on my own reflection of how educational practitioners experience shifting relationships to research. It suggests that within the further education (FE) sector, professionalism in teaching is measured through observation in the form of the Ofsted [Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills] inspection. In this case, the lecturer becomes an agent of research, i.e. a 'body' to be assessed and scrutinised according to a defined set of criteria. In contrast, in higher education (HE), an academic becomes the creator of research and is expected to generate new knowledge through research output. This paper therefore examines the relationship between theory and practice with specific reference to how different discourses of research are used to either assess or demarcate professionalism within UK post-compulsory education, depending in which sector practice is based.