Data publishing (also data publication) is the act of releasing research data in published form for use by others. It is a practice consisting in preparing certain data or data set(s) for public use thus to make them available to everyone to use as they wish. This practice is an integral part of the open science movement. There is a large and multidisciplinary consensus on the benefits resulting from this practice. The main goal is to elevate data to be first class research outputs. There are a number of initiatives underway as well as points of consensus and issues still in contention.