In this presentation I seek to address the differences between art made outside of the academy, and art made as part of PhD research within the academy. In doing so I will make a case for the cultural and epistemic value of practice research, as well as its limitations. I will draw on the scholarship of Alva Noë, Michael Biggs and Daniela Büchler, as well as my own current research into dance epistemology. My approach will be to use a 'steel man' (as opposed to a 'straw man') argument to discuss the positions against practice research so that we might understand the complex nature of practices within practice research, and to present an expanded perspective on the nature of postgraduate research in higher education.