Introduction

Research and data management skills are essential for librarians involved in citizen science projects. Citizen science involves engaging the public in scientific research, and librarians can play a crucial role in supporting citizen science initiatives by providing guidance and assistance with research and data management.

Librarians involved in citizen science projects should have strong research skills, including the ability to identify and evaluate relevant sources of information, design effective research strategies, and manage research data. They should also have a good understanding of data management practices, including data collection, organization, storage, and sharing.

Research data is the digital documents and physical objects that are collected or generated during research activities and are used in the research process to obtain scientific insights and to confirm research findings and results. 

Research data management (RDM) is the creation, storage and sharing of research data and associated metadata to preserve the relevance and reliability of the data, taking into account confidentiality and data protection issues throughout the life of the data. Research data management is an important part of organizing and running citizen science projects, so it is essential to develop these skills for librarians if they are seen as facilitators of citizen science projects. Research data management takes place throughout the research process, from the research planning stage to the selection of research data and ending with submission for long-term storage after the research is completed. Thus, the librarian must be knowledgeable about many important things related to all phases of research data management. It is also necessary to know well the specifics of the organization of citizen science research.