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What is skip-logic?

How to use skip-logic

McKenzie avatar
Written by McKenzie
Updated over a week ago

There are two types of surveys, Content + Questions, and Question Series. Skip-Logic varies slightly between both survey types.

Jump to: Skip-logic for Question series (below in this article)


For a typicial Content + Questions survey, Skip-logic enables participants to skip over following question(s) to a different question based on their answers to the trigger question. Think of it like leap frog!

For example, If you have no military experience, but a survey asks you several questions detailing your military experience, you would want to skip over those questions. Those that answer "Yes" to "Have you served in the military" would advance to step 2 and answer additional military-related questions. No Skip-Logic necessary.

In the example above, the participant answers questions 1-3,  answering "No" to having any military experience. It's best to have them skip to question 6 since questions 4 & 5 become irrelevant based on their response, in this case. We do this with a Skip-Logic Rule attached to the answer option.

First, your survey must have multiple steps (i.e. pages – a minimum of 3 steps) for skip-logic to work. If a project only has one step, then all questions are visible to the participant on a single page, thus they cannot skip to another question. The question you are skipping to has to be located on a subsequent step, following the questions you are skipping over.

👉Note: In a Content + Questions survey, the question you are skipping from must be the last question on the page, with the skip-logic function directly below it.

Here's an example of multiple skip-logic rules. (Click the image below to view large scale version in a new window.) The answer choices that trigger skip-logic are color-coded to match the question & corresponding step that they skip to.

Step 1, question 1 has four answer options. each answer has it's own skip-logic rule, and takes the participant to a different question on a different step. 

  1. Which option do you prefer?
    Option A ⇾ the survey advances to Q2 on step 2 - no skip-logic needed.
    Option B skips over step 2 (questions about Option A) to Q3 on step 3.
    Option C skips over step 2 & 3 (questions about Option A & B) to Q4 on step 4.
    No preference skips over steps 2-4 to the confirmation message (Q5 on step 5,) concluding the survey.

    Questions 2 & 3 have skip-logic rules for both answer choices.

  2. What do you like about Option A?
    traffic circles ⤼ skips over steps 3 & 4 to confirmation message on step 5
    sidewalks ⤼ skips over steps & 4 to confirmation message on step 5

  3. What do you like about Option B?
    traffic circles ⤼ skips over step 4 to confirmation message on step 5
    mixed-use paths ⤼ skips over step 4 to confirmation message on step 5

  4. What do you like about Option C?
    no traffic circles
    the survey advances to step 5 - no skip-logic needed.
    a sidewalk & a mixed-use paththe survey advances to step 5 - no skip-logic needed.

Note: You can have multiple skip-logic rules for each question. Each answer has its own skip-logic rule. Question 4 on Step 4 doesn't need any skip-logic, because the survey will continue to step 5 automatically.

You can have multiple questions on a step, just remember, in a Content + Questions Survey, the skip-logic question must be the last question on the page, with the skip-logic rule(s) directly below.

Skip-logic rules can be set up to skip a participant through a survey, based on responses they do or do not select.


Skip-logic for Question Series 


For a question series survey, or a survey that presents each question one at a time, the questions are vertical instead of linear across steps on the back end.
(Click the image below to view larger in a new window.)

Think of it like skipping down rungs of a ladder. All questions are on a single page. The trigger question does not have to be the last on the page for skip-logic to work properly in a quetion series, but the skip-logic for the answer(s) need(s) to be directly below the trigger question. You can only skip to questions down the list, below the trigger question.


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