Hi MicroWest,
I did this, too, for one of my thesis chapters. I designed the experiments, prepared the samples, handed them over to a collaborator who produced chromatograms and numerical data, and then I did the data analysis and wrote it up.
Quote From TreeofLife:
I think it's ok as you make it clear what you have done and what they did. You just need to make sure you are still making a substantial contribution I guess.
Yep. It's still your study. You just asked someone else to use an established [presumed] method which was unavailable in your lab, and for which they were [presumably] paid. If you initiated the collaboration (as I did), it might count in your favour, as it shows you've got the gumption to do so.
I would add a cave, however: if a paper is coming out of this, sort out authorship, especially first authorship. I've recently been having problems over this, though not actually because of my collaborator. He's cool, semi-retired and has a s***-load of papers. Nonetheless, my supervisor decided - off his own bat - to offer him co-first authorship. I tore him off a strip and he's had to back track. Hopefully, he's suitably embarrassed. But just be mindful of it...