The "Folklore in Context" course has been enlightening, as it discusses the complex fabric of folklore studies and field research methodologies. It commenced with a profound statement, "Folklore without fieldwork is fakelore," setting the tone for an immersive exploration into the essence of folklore, its collection, and its significance in preserving community identity. 

Understanding orality and its importance in folklore studies is a fundamental component of the course. The differentiation between primary and secondary orality provided insight into the nature of oral narratives and underscored that folklore involves more than just literary study. This realisation was essential in understanding dynamic and situational folklore, thriving on group dynamics, privacy, and gesture richness. 

Researchers in anthropology and folklore have utilized comparative methods to ease their investigation in the quest for understanding humans and their cultures throughout the historical framework. Herodotus, a precursor of anthropologists, compares Greek customs with those of neighbouring civilizations. The writings of Montesquieu and Voltaire and early travellers' accounts of their ethnographic data were illustrative rather than comparative. They were unsystematic and deductive, leading to a diluted viewpoint of outsiders that superficially contrasted with the similarities they found back home. The comparative method, as practised by Tylor, Frazer, and others at the end of the nineteenth century in an intellectual context, was not unsystematic. Yet, the critical underlying premise was that of unilinear evolution, in which it was assumed that all peoples had progressed or were progressing from initial savagery through the final stage of civilization. 

Andrew Lang’s 1884 Custom and Myth, entitled "The Method of Folklore," discusses the comparative method in studying folklore. This method involves examining and comparing various cultural elements like superstitions, usages, and irrational beliefs. He also lays down a basic foundation of folklore which is often seen in forms like tales, riddles, and nursery rhymes, reflecting a stage of thought common in many parts of the world. Carl Jung's work, The Psychology of the Archetype suggests that so-called "primitive" minds, often associated with early cultures, did not differ fundamentally from "civilized" minds in terms of mental functions. This contrasts with earlier views that regarded non-European cultures as intellectually inferior. Most of them sat in the comfort of their library and undertook the task of rather reading through a series of kinds of literature than actually stepping on the field except the pioneering Finnish anthropologist Westermarck who did both extensive fieldwork in Morocco and comprehensive library comparative research.