What is Skip logic?
Skip logic (also called conditional branching) directs respondents through different questions or pages based on earlier answers so each person only sees what’s relevant. It tailors the survey path to reduce burden and improve data quality.
Skip logic is a rule-based feature in surveys that shows, hides, or jumps past questions depending on a respondent’s previous answers. For example, a question asking whether someone is a parent can determine whether follow-up questions about children appear. Skip logic can be as simple as a single question redirect or as complex as multi-step branching across sections. In practice it’s implemented using conditions (if/then rules) tied to specific answers or answer values rather than the exact language shown, so the same logic can run across translated versions of a survey.
Usage example
You ask: “Do you have children under 18?” If the respondent selects “Yes,” the survey shows a short set of childcare questions. If they select “No,” the survey skips directly to questions about household services. In Hearo you create this rule once and it applies in every language, so Spanish- or Somali-speaking participants follow the same conditional path.
Practical application
Skip logic matters because it makes surveys shorter, clearer and more respectful of respondents’ time—especially for multilingual audiences. Relevant benefits: higher completion rates, fewer irrelevant or confusing questions, better-quality answers and simpler analysis because respondents only see applicable items. For Hearo users it also reduces translation effort and participant frustration: you don’t need separate translated surveys for different groups, and conditional paths remain consistent across languages. Best practice: keep branching simple, preview and test flows in each language, and use conditional requirement settings to avoid accidental missing data.
FAQ
Will skip logic break if the survey is translated into other languages?
No — skip logic operates on the answer values or codes, not the displayed text, so the same conditional rules apply across translated versions. However, you should preview and test the flow in each language to ensure participants understand the trigger questions and don’t misinterpret answer options.
Can skip logic cause missing or invalid data?
It can if required questions are accidentally hidden by a rule. Use conditional 'required' settings tied to the same logic so a question is only required when it’s shown, and test common paths to confirm all necessary data is collected.
How complex should my skip logic be?
Aim for the simplest logic that makes the survey relevant. Deep, tangled branching increases the chance of mistakes, makes testing harder and complicates analysis. If you need many different paths, consider splitting the survey into clearer sections or using a short screener question to route respondents to separate short surveys.
How do I test skip logic in Hearo before sending the survey out?
Preview the survey and step through every answer path in the builder, then test each path in the languages you’ll offer. Submit a few test responses and review the collected responses and the recorded path. Use Hearo’s translation-feedback tools to confirm trigger questions are clear in each language and adjust wording if respondents might interpret options differently.