Question Blocks

Suite
Customer Experience Employee Experience Strategy & Research
Product
Qualtrics
What's on this page

About Question Blocks

Blocks are used to group and organize the questions in your survey. You can think of blocks like chapters in a book; each block has its own content, and together they form a cohesive survey. Every survey has at least 1 question block. To learn more about creating and managing blocks, see block options.

Typically, questions are separated into blocks to conditionally display an entire set of questions, or to randomly present a set of questions. This can be achieved with branching and randomization options found in the survey flow.

Example: In academic research, you might have 2 sets of questions: one for a control group of participants and one for an experimental group. Instead of creating 2 surveys, you could create 2 blocks of questions within a single survey and randomly assign participants to one block or the other.

In your survey flow, you can organize your question blocks. This lets you choose when and in what order the questions in your survey appear, allowing you to design a survey that displays exactly what you want when you want it.

the survey flow of a survey with the blocks highlighted
the survey flow of a survey with the blocks highlighted
Blocks can also be used to organize longer surveys. For example, the first 2 questions in your survey can be placed be in a block called “Introduction,” and the rest of your survey questions in a block called “Main Survey.”

Adding a Block to Your Survey Flow

Qtip: Every time you create a new block, it will automatically be added to your survey flow. The order of the blocks in the survey editor will match the order of blocks in the survey flow. If you need to move a block in your survey flow, see Making Edits in the Survey Flow.
While editing your survey, navigate to Survey flow by clicking the survey flow icon on the left navigation bar.
navigating to the survey flow by clicking the survey flow icon on the left navigation bar
navigating to the survey flow by clicking the survey flow icon on the left navigation bar
Click Add a New Element Here or Add Below, depending on where you want the block to appear in your flow.
the add a new element here and add below buttons in the survey flow
the add a new element here and add below buttons in the survey flow
Select Block.
selecting the block element to add to the survey flow
selecting the block element to add to the survey flow
Use the drop-down menu to select a question block.
using the dropdown menu to select a block when adding a block to the survey flow
using the dropdown menu to select a block when adding a block to the survey flow

Qtip: To see which questions are in a given block, click the bracketed question count to the right of the block name. Collapse the list of questions by clicking the question count again.

a block is expanded in the survey flow by clicking the number of questions in the block
a block is expanded in the survey flow by clicking the number of questions in the block
When finished, click Apply.
Qtip: If you need to rearrange your blocks in the survey flow, click Move and drag & drop the block to the desired place. Note that rearranging blocks in your survey flow will also rearrange them in the survey editor.
a GIF showing how to move a block by clicking move on the block and then dragging the block

Showing the Same Block Multiple Times

You can have the same block appear multiple times in your survey flow, but the questions will only appear once in your results. If a respondent sees the same block a second time in a survey, they’ll see—and be able to modify—their previous responses. While not common, this can be useful in some situations, such as having the respondent double-check their contact information before submitting their response. However, duplicating a block is most commonly used to have it shown in separate branches in the survey flow, not to show the same questions twice.

Qtip: Showing the same block multiple times in the survey flow is different from copying a block in your survey editor. Copied blocks are separate from each other (the same as having 2 different blocks), and the questions from each block show up separately in your results.

To duplicate a block in your survey flow, click Duplicate. You can then move the block to where you want it to appear in your flow.

the duplicate button on a block
the duplicate button on a block

Example Use Cases

The following use-cases are for using the same block multiple times in your survey flow:

  • In this example, an A/B test is being run where a respondent is randomly shown one of 2 conditions. However, the follow-up questions we ask in each condition are the same, so the follow-up question block is duplicated and included in each branch.
    two branches for the a/b conditions. each branch has the follow up question block
    two branches for the a/b conditions. each branch has the follow up question block
  • In this example, duplicate blocks are used to artificially weight a block when using a randomizer  set to evenly present elements. This will result in condition A being seen by ⅔ of respondents, while condition B will be seen by ⅓.
    a randomizer with three blocks: block a is here twice and block b is here once
    a randomizer with three blocks: block a is here twice and block b is here once
  • In this example, respondents are asked to provide their contact information at the beginning of the survey. The contact information block is duplicated at the end of the survey so respondent can verify their contact information before submitting their response.
    the survey flow. the contact information block is first and last in the flow
    the survey flow. the contact information block is first and last in the flow

Types of Projects this Feature Is Available In

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

FAQs

A block has a red error message at the top of it saying "Not in Survey Flow". What does this mean?

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