Survey Question Branching
Create intelligent surveys that adapt to your respondents. Guide them through personalized question paths based on their answers.
What is Survey Branching?
Survey branching, also known as conditional logic or skip logic, allows you to create dynamic surveys where the questions shown to respondents depend on their previous answers. Instead of showing every respondent the same linear sequence of questions, branching creates personalized paths through your survey.
For example, if you ask "Which areas of your home were remodeled?" and the respondent selects "Kitchen," you can automatically show them kitchen-specific questions next. If they select "Bathroom," they'll see bathroom-specific questions instead. This creates a more relevant, engaging experience for respondents and provides you with cleaner, more organized data.
Key Concepts
Question Groups
Questions are organized into groups. Every survey has a default group (Group 0) that contains questions shown to all respondents. You can create additional groups to organize related questions together. For example:
Group 0 (Default): General questions shown to everyone, including Last Questions
Group 1 (Kitchen): Questions specific to kitchen remodeling
Group 2 (Bathroom): Questions specific to bathroom remodeling
Branching Rules
Branching rules determine which group to show next based on a respondent's answer. You can configure branching for:
Multiple Choice Questions: Each answer option can branch to a different group
Select All That Apply: Each selected option can trigger branching logic
True/False Questions: Different paths for True vs. False answers
If no specific branching rule is defined for an answer, the survey continues sequentially to the next question in the current group.
Last Questions
Last Questions are special questions in Group 0 that are always shown at the very end of the survey, after all other groups have been completed. These are perfect for closing questions like "Do you have anything else to add?" or final rating questions.
Survey Flow
When a respondent takes a survey with branching, the flow works like this:
Step 1: Start with Group 0 questions (excluding Last Questions)
Step 2: As respondents answer questions with branching rules, other groups get "cued" to be shown
Step 3: After Group 0 is complete, all cued groups are shown in numerical order
Step 4: After all cued groups, Last Questions (if any) are shown
Step 5: Respondent submits the survey
This means different respondents may see different groups based on their answers, but everyone sees the same Group 0 questions and the same Last Questions at the end.
Visual Example: Branching Flow
The diagram below illustrates how survey branching works in practice. In this home remodeling satisfaction survey, respondents see different questions based on which areas they had remodeled:
Understanding the Diagram:
Default Group (Gray): Contains general questions shown to all respondents at the start
Kitchen Group (Blue): Questions specific to kitchen remodeling, shown only if "Kitchen" was selected
Bathroom Group (Purple): Questions specific to bathroom remodeling, shown only if "Bathroom" was selected
Arrows: Show the branching flow - which groups lead to which based on answers
Last Question (Yellow): Final question shown to everyone before submission, regardless of their path
Benefits of Survey Branching
Improved Response Rates
Shorter, more relevant surveys keep respondents engaged and reduce abandonment. People are more likely to complete surveys that don't waste their time with irrelevant questions.
Better Data Quality
Respondents provide more thoughtful, accurate answers when questions are relevant to their situation. Branching eliminates "Not Applicable" responses and confusion.
Personalized Experience
Make respondents feel heard by showing them questions tailored to their specific situation. This creates a more professional, thoughtful impression of your survey.
Organized Data Collection
Grouping related questions together makes analyzing results easier. You can quickly see responses for specific segments without filtering through irrelevant data.
Common Use Cases
How to Set Up Branching
Best Practices
Keep it simple: Start with basic branching before creating complex multi-path surveys. Too many branches can be confusing to manage.
Use clear group names: Descriptive names like "Kitchen Remodel Questions" are better than "Group 1" for staying organized.
Test all paths: Take your survey multiple times, choosing different answers each time to ensure every path works correctly.
Use Last Questions wisely: Only mark questions as "Last Question" if they truly need to appear at the very end for all respondents. Remember, Last Questions cannot have branching rules.
Keep Group 0 universal: Use the default group for questions that should be shown to everyone, regardless of their answers, including Last Questions.
Consider the respondent experience: Make sure the flow feels natural and logical from the respondent's perspective, not just from a data collection standpoint.
Document your logic: For complex surveys, keep notes about why you set up branching a certain way. This helps if you need to modify it later.