Research data management is guided by principles that promote data quality, integrity, accessibility, and responsible use throughout the research lifecycle. Best practices include planning for data management from the outset, using standards and metadata to ensure documentation and reproducibility, and applying the FAIR principles so data are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. Strong attention is also given to ethical considerations, privacy, and intellectual property, alongside secure storage and long-term preservation. Together, these practices support transparent, efficient, and trustworthy research, enabling data to be shared and reused for greater scientific and societal impact.