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Branch Logic

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About Branch Logic

Branches are useful when you want to send respondents down different paths in the survey. You can use branch logic to branch respondents to different survey flow elements based on variables like question responses or embedded data. It’s a bit like a choose your own adventure novel. Depending on how your respondents answer certain questions, they will take different routes through your survey.

Example: You can use branches to show one block of questions to survey respondents who own your product and a different block of questions to respondents who don’t. You can also use branches to tag users with embedded data labels.

Branch logic saying that is a respondent owns an e-book reader, they'll go into a block with questions for current e-book customers
This survey uses branch logic to send E-Book reader owners to the e-Book Current Customers block and non-owners to the Potential Customers block.

Qtip: Branches are best for when you want to selectively show a whole block of questions. If you need to hide a small number of questions, consider using display logic. If you want to skip respondents to the end of a survey or to a question within the same block, consider using skip logic.

Adding a Branch

  1. While editing your survey, click the Survey flow icon in the left navigation bar.
    navigating to the survey flow by clicking the survey flow icon on the left navigation bar
  2. Click Add Below or Add a New Element Here.
    Add Below button on the bottom-right of a block and the Add a New Element button at the bottom of the Survey Flow
  3. Choose Branch.
    Yellow What do you want to add? menu with Branch selected
  4. Click Add a Condition and add a logic condition (conditions can be based on questions, Embedded Data, Device Type, Quotas, or GeoIP Location).
    Add a Condition button towards the center of the new branch

    Qtip: For more information on setting logic conditions, see using logic.
  5. Create a new element or move an existing one underneath the branch.
    Completed branches
    Participants who answer “Yes” to the question “Do you own an E-Book reader?” will be shown the E-Book Current Customers block.

    Qtip: Click the minus sign on the top left of the branch to collapse the items beneath it and save space.

Understanding Branches

The survey flow represents the order that respondents will move through your survey. Each time someone takes the survey, they move through the flow top-to-bottom and left-to-right. When a respondent reaches a branch in the survey flow, they will follow that branch until they reach a condition that they do not meet, or until they reach an end of survey element.

Branch logic saying that if a respondent says they are male and under 18, they will go to an End of Survey element
Each respondent taking this survey will start with the Introduction and Demographics blocks of questions. After, males who are under 18 years old will be directed out of the survey. Everyone else will then continue to the E-Book Current Customers block.

When a respondent reaches the end of a branch that does not terminate in an end of survey element, they will pick up with the next section of the survey.

In the w=question What is your gender? Male is selected, and in the question What is your age? Under 18 is selected.
When a respondent reaches this point in the survey and clicks the next button, the branch logic condition will be assessed. If they meet the condition (they are male under 18 years old), they will be directed to the end of survey element and their survey will terminate. Those who do not meet the condition will continue to the next element in the survey flow.

To add multiple items in a Branch

Sometimes you may want to nest multiple items under one branch or have a branch within a branch. To do this, add the items as normal and then move them under the desired branch.

Branch logic saying that if a respondents says they are male and under 18, they will go to a block and then the End of Survey element.
After viewing the Demographics block, any respondent who is male and under 18 will be shown a special Exit Block and then have their survey terminated.

You can also use a branch to group items together. For more information on grouping items under a branch, see the using branch logic section in our advanced randomizer options page.

Qtip: If you want to use the same set of questions in multiple branches, you can add the block to the survey flow multiple times.

Exclude from Progress Bar Calculation

To help your respondents keep track of how much of the survey they’ve completed, you can insert a progress bar into your survey. By default, the survey’s progress increments for every question the respondent passes when hitting Next.

But let’s say you want to exclude a set of questions from the survey’s progress. Maybe you have a branch where you ask some filler questions before screening participants out, and you don’t want the progress bar to make such a big leap when other respondents successfully make it past this screen-out. Or maybe you’d like your survey progress not to increment so that when you assess the percentage a respondent still working on their survey has finished, or export the  percent completion for an incomplete response, you get a more accurate reading.

There is an option that allows you to exclude a branch from the survey’s progress. In the survey flow, click Options on your branch.

Options button on the lower-right of a branch

Select Exclude from progress bar calculation. Then click OK.

One option that says 'Exclude from progress bar calculation'

Types of Projects this Feature Is Available In

Branches are compatible with every type of project that lets you customize a survey flow. This includes:

FAQs