Referencing practices in coaching vary in density

I am observing that of the 30+ articles I've engaged with as part of my Graduate Certificate in Professional Coaching that the reference density (how often and how many times a journal articles cites preceding work) varies a lot. Some feel a lot more sparse in citations. I'm unsure if this is because the papers are assuming a lot of what they're stating is common knowledge or because the [north:: Coaching] academic discipline is fairly new and practitioner-driven.

This has gotten me hyped to do a research project...! [contributes to:: Patterns, Pathways, and Power-Bibliometric analysis]