The word folklore stands for both the subject matter of traditional culture and the study of that subject matter, just as history refers both to past events and to the study of those events by historians.

Folklorists analyze the materials of folklore in a variety of ways. They seek to reconstruct the origin and spread of a folk tale, folk song, proverb, house type, festival , or other genre. They attempt to determine whether a ballad was composed by one bard or by a singing and dancing group, and whether a myth was once a narrative explanation of a fertility ritual.

They endeavor to explain the functions of folklore in rural and urban society. Riddles may sharpen wits. Proverbs may transmit tribal wisdom. Supernatural beliefs may offer security in a hostile world. Tales may reinforce the moral code, or provide homemade fun and fantasy.

Folklorists attempt to uncover the meaning of the traditions they record and observe, sometimes through psychoanalytical symbolism, through cultural factors, or through historical processes.