Forms & Surveys
Part of Business survey software: selection framework
Comparing survey logic and branching features
Map respondent routes and compare question skips, display rules, block branching, conflicts and saved answers before choosing survey software.
Compare survey logic by mapping the routes respondents need to take, then checking what each product can express and what its results record. “Branching” may mean a skip to a later question, a condition on one question or a route through a whole block.
Draw the routes
Use a fictional feedback survey: ask whether the respondent used a product or a service, show the relevant follow-up, and bring both routes to a shared satisfaction question. A third answer, “Neither”, should lead to a clear ending. Before opening an editor, write the expected next question for every answer.
Add cases that expose rule behaviour: an unanswered optional question, an answer changed after the respondent goes back and two conditions that could both match. Decide what the result should contain when a question is no longer relevant.
| Rule | What to check |
|---|---|
| Skip | Can an answer move forward to the intended question or ending? |
| Show or hide | Can one follow-up change without duplicating a whole page? |
| Block branch | Can related questions share a route? |
| Conflict | Which rule takes effect when two match? |
| Result | Can an analyst interpret answers from questions the respondent did not see? |
Respondent Journey in a Feedback Survey
- Start: Used product or service?Select 'Product' or 'Service' or 'Neither'
- Route: Used ProductShow follow-up questions about product usage
- Route: Used ServiceShow follow-up questions about service experience
- Route: NeitherEnd survey with disqualification page
- Final Question: Overall satisfactionShared question for all paths
Compare documented controls
SurveyMonkey uses Question Skip Logic for supported closed-ended answers. It moves forward and needs a page break. Advanced Branching can combine conditions to show, hide or skip content.
Question Skip Logic overrides Page Skip Logic when both are applied on the same page. For an ending route, Question Skip Logic can send respondents to the configured Survey End Page, where their response is considered COMPLETE, or to a disqualification page, where it is considered DISQUALIFIED.
Qualtrics separates display logic for individual questions and answer choices, branch logic for blocks and survey-flow elements, and skip logic for a destination. Qualtrics says a branch disables the back button on the first page of the following block. Check whether respondents can correct an earlier choice where your survey needs them to.
Survey Logic Features Across Platforms
- SurveyMonkeyQuestion Skip Logic (forward only), Advanced Branching (show/hide/skip), overrides Page Skip Logic, supports Survey End and Disqualification pages
- QualtricsDisplay logic (per question), Branch Logic (block-level), Skip Logic (destination-based), disables back button on first block page
- TypeformBranching Logic (conditional routing), does not support complex multi-condition rules without workarounds
Inspect the resulting records
Submit harmless answers through every route, including a changed earlier answer. Compare the respondent journey with the route map, then inspect the stored response and any export available to your analysis role. Establish how the product represents a question that was never shown and an optional question left unanswered; do not assign the same meaning to every blank field.
Keep the route map with the survey version. When an answer choice or question changes, review the rules that depend on it and retest the affected routes before locking the survey version.
Handling Conflicts and Unanswered Questions
- Pros – Clear Rule HierarchySurveyMonkey resolves conflicts by prioritising Question Skip Logic over Page Skip Logic; Qualtrics enforces logical flow via block branching.
- Cons – Ambiguous Blank FieldsUnanswered optional questions and unseen questions may be stored as blank; analysts must distinguish between 'not applicable' and 'missing data'.
