Hi. see references ahoy on nursing and education platform web. The great thinkers eg Freud, had very little references. Refs prove that you have done a complete search around the topic. Yet I still meet Profs who are unaware of the great early pieces of work and so sometimes, re-invent the wheel. It is good practice to acknowledge someone who works on similar however.Yes there can be independent thought but we need to acknowledge others who may think similar. Often I think what I believe to be original and found someone else has said similar. I do not feel miffed, just relieved!Unfortunately, publishers prefer that which they feel comfortable with-- not the unusual. Is that why the big bang theory took so long??