As a medical technician without formal training in ethnology, Teng's qualifications for doing fieldwork have been questioned by some, but his work is highly regarded among the specialists at the Institute of Ethnology and the Institute of Linguistics, Preparatory Office, two Academia Sinica bodies with which Teng has worked closely.
從醫檢師跨足做田野調查，鄧相揚的「專業性」多少受到質疑，但中研院民族所、語言所等許多專業的學者，對他卻是相當推崇。