rethinking scientific
standards for citation
and writing

developed for the german-speaking academic community.
designed for international research.

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01 / unified framework

one standard,
three citation modes

GCS combines author–year, footnote and numeric citation within a single scientific framework, complemented by an independent annotation system.

02 / scientific process

research-driven
and openly documented

Decisions are developed through comparative research, critical evaluation and versioned documentation in a publicly accessible research journal.

03 / open access

free access,
academic value

The future standard, learning resources and foundational digital tools are intended to remain freely accessible to students, universities and researchers.

Abstract black line structures representing a common scientific framework
01 / the initiative

project briefing

The German Manual of Style explores how scientific writing and citation can become more consistent, accessible and digitally interoperable. Its first research module, German Citation Style (GCS), examines the strengths and limitations of established citation conventions.

Rooted in the German-speaking academic community across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the initiative is designed with international research in mind.

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02 / documented progress

milestones &
versioning

Research milestones, decisions and future releases are documented separately. The project history makes progress visible, while formal version numbers will identify only reviewed and approved GCS specifications.

The published chronology records what has been achieved, what remains under investigation and how the framework evolves over time.

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Technical dot matrix with diagonal connections symbolizing development milestones
Monochrome close-up of curved pages representing published research records
03 / public documentation

research journal

The journal will chronicle the intellectual foundations of the project: theoretical questions, comparison of citation systems, methodological decisions, research findings and revisions.

Its purpose is to make the development process traceable—not to present preliminary hypotheses as scientifically validated findings.

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development / transparent chronology

project milestones

research documentation
  1. oct 2026

    domains
    registered

    Project domains acquired and reserved for the GMS initiative.

    completed
  2. oct 2026

    core concept
    defined

    GMS scope, GCS research direction and open-access vision established.

    completed
  3. current phase

    design system
    & HTML templates

    Visual reference and the first offline website templates in development.

    in progress
  4. next

    research
    framework

    Refine the MBA research design and comparative evaluation criteria.

    planned
  5. later

    public journal
    launch

    Publish dated project entries and research decisions after review.

    planned
  6. later

    GCS research
    & evaluation

    Empirical investigation and subsequent development of GCS rules.

    planned

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people / origin

Stefan Schulz

Founder of 1a-Studi and initiator of the German Manual of Style.

The initiative brings together practical experience with scientific writing, a critical interest in citation standards and the goal of open, comprehensible academic rules. Its development will be documented transparently from the initial concept through scientific investigation and future releases.

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