Pioneers of that field include Hugo Kołłątaj, Zorian Dołęga-Chodakowski, Oskar Kolberg, Jan Karłowicz, Erazm Majewski, Zygmunt Gloger, Lucjan Malinowski, Władysław Siarkowski, Jan Świętek, Seweryn Udziela, Kazimierz Władysław Wóycicki, Żegota Pauli, Karol Baliński and Lucjan Siemieński).
Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, founded in 1949, publishes a journal Etnografia Polska since 1956.
Research on Polish folklore begins in the 19th century and is related to the fight to maintain national consciousness (see also: positivism in Poland, work at the grassroots).
In 1802, Hugo Kołłątaj developed the first Polish research program on folklore, but the increase in interest in this field occurred mainly in the second half of the 19th century.
Materials were also collected by amateur writers and ethnographers (including Kazimierz Władysław Wóycicki, Żegota Pauli, Karol Baliński, Lucjan Siemieński).