Re interviewing:
"research carried out by amateurs seeking to investigate people like Pardon"

The 'amateurs' referred to here are some of the most experienced and respected folk song collectors around, and the fact that they haven't been paid for their labours doesn't make them any less expert. The interview material available on Walter Pardon is some of the most extensive and valuable collected from any traditional singer. 'A questionnaire'? Are you being serious?

One of the sadder developments in folk song research over recent decades has been the tendency of agenda-driven, stay-at-home researchers to pick holes in the efforts of people who actually did stuff, collected songs, met singers, etc. Give me the 'amateurs' every time.