While research data has become integral to the scholarly endeavour, a number of challenges hinder its development, management and dissemination. This chapter follows the life cycle of research data, by considering aspects ranging from storage and preservation to sharing and legal factors. While it provides a wide overview of the current ecosystem, it also pinpoints the elements comprising the modern research sharing practices such as metadata creation, the FAIR principles, identifiers, Creative Commons licencing and the various repository options. Furthermore, the chapter discusses the mandates and regulations that influence data sharing and the possible technological means of overcoming their complexity, such as blockchain systems.