Visceral imprints on our minds, bodies and spirits: revealing and embracing viscerality in fieldwork

Purpose This paper examines visceral imprints in fieldwork, or moments that provoke an instinctive response – initially physically and emotionally – often with residual mental and spiritual responses over time. Design/methodology/approach In a multi-voiced text, we analyze a combined 56 years of field experiences in a variety of organizations, including municipal courtrooms, airport security checkpoints, a non-profit girls' running organization, a medical intensive care unit (MICU) and methadone clinics. We present exemplar fieldnote excerpts and use these to showcase how visceral imprints have manifested in our own research. Findings We introduce and reflect upon five characteristics the viscerality of fieldwork including: (1) emotional complexity, (2) temporal resonance, (3) lack of control, (4) intensity and (5) transformation. Research limitations/implications We offer implications about the power of experiences to affect us and shape our visceral experiences in the field and over time. We use these visceral imprints to tune in to how we feel in our bodies, minds and spirits while we collect the data, craft future research and share our wisdom. Originality/value Our analysis demonstrates that visceral imprints are characterized by the emotional complexity and interactions of the scene, the participants and the researchers' own feelings. We reveal how visceral imprints demonstrates the resonance of time by examining how the meaning of experiences changes through conversations, voices, experiences and memories in the field. We detail how visceral imprints emerges in research situations where fieldworkers experience feelings of powerlessness and a lack of control, as well as emotional intensity. Finally, we highlight that visceral imprints can be transformative – evident in change and adaptation.