Purpose The traditional means of pursuing research by having all the parameters and processes under one roof has given way to collaborative mechanisms of performing the same task. Collaborative work increases the quality of research and it is a big contributing factor to augment the growth of the scientific knowledge. This process leads to training of new and well-informed academicians and scientists. e-Research (Electronic Research) has gained significant amount of traction as technology serves as the backbone for undertaking collaborative research. The purpose of this paper is to provide a synoptic view of existing research surrounding e-Research and suggest a data lifecycle model that can improve the outcome of collaborative research. Design/methodology/approach Systematic literature review methodology has been employed to undertake this study. Using the outcome of the literature review and the analysis of the existing data lifecycle models, an improvised version of the data lifecycle model has been suggested. Findings This study has brought a conceptual model for data lifecycle for collaborative research. The literature review in the domain of e-Research has shown that the focus of these papers was on the following stages of data lifecycle model: concept and design, data collection, data processing, sharing and distribution of data and data analysis. Research limitations/implications In this paper, only journal papers have been considered and conference proceedings have not been included for literature review. Originality/value This paper suggests a conceptual model for the data lifecycle for collaborative research. This study can be useful for academic and research institutions to design their data lifecycle model.