Survey Logic: A Guide to Improved Data Collection

What makes a survey truly an experience?

– When there are no unnecessary questions and taking the survey feels quick and conversational.

And what helps in creating such highly engaging and SMART surveys?

Enter Survey Logic.

So with an impeccable survey design, coupled with survey logic, there is nothing that can stop you from avoiding low survey completion rates and inaccurate data.

After that, all you need is an effective survey builder to get the job done!

In this blog, we will explore the basics of survey logic, its different types, and how it can benefit you in various ways.

But let’s first get to know what survey logic exactly means.

What is Survey Logic?

Survey Logic is a survey builder’s feature that enables you to effectively tailor your survey to your respondents’ answers, making sure they only see questions that are relevant to their experiences. 

All the surveys that have increased efficiency, high respondent experience, and lead to more reliable results employ survey logic. It helps your survey adapt to every respondent’s behavior

 —  ultimately resulting in higher completion rates and more accurate data.

And there are many types of it!

Types of Survey Logic

There are commonly four types of survey logic – 

1. Jump Logic 
2. Display Logic 
3. Carry Forward Logic 
4. Piping Logic.

Let’s find out more about each of these to get a better understanding of survey logic.

1. Jump logic

Picture you’re a financial institution conducting a satisfaction survey. 

Now on a 1 to 5 satisfaction scale, if your client scores a 5 then they are directed away from general feedback questions. You wouldn’t want to ask them why they were unhappy, right? 

Jump Logic lets you skip those questions and ask things that are more interesting to them, like why they loved your bank.

On the other hand, if your client scores a 2, then Jump Logic will ask them more about what went wrong so you can improve. This way, everyone gets a smoother and quicker survey experience.

Jump logic or survey skip logic, therefore, customizes the path respondents take based on their answers to specific questions. This logic ensures that participants only encounter or “jump” to questions that are relevant to their experiences, ignoring the irrelevant ones. Hence,  streamlining the survey process and improving the overall respondent experience. 

2. Display Logic

Say you recently launched a feature called “Advanced Reporting.” and you want to ask your users about their experience with it. In this case, Display Logic can smartly show ONLY the relevant question. 

For instance, if the respondent selects “Yes,” The Display Logic will show further questions about their experience with this feature, such as its usefulness or ease of use. 

However, if the respondent selects “No,” there’s no need to ask these follow-up questions since they haven’t used the feature. 

Display logic shows or hides specific questions based on respondents’ previous answers. It ensures a personalized and relevant survey experience. In simpler terms, display logic tailors the survey to each respondent, showing only what applies to them, making the survey process smoother and more enjoyable.

3. Carry Forward Logic

Picture that you are giving a CSAT survey for a retail company where you rate your experience with their customer support as very satisfied in one section. From here, the carry-forward logic will take this positive sentiment forward. 

Now, there will be no point in asking you about the features you did not like because you have already expressed your satisfaction with the product, right? So, the subsequent questions will focus on specific aspects, such as quality and variety of products, seeking more detailed feedback while maintaining continuity with the positive sentiment expressed earlier.

With Carry Forward Logic, you use respondents’ selections to move multiple response choices from one question to another. This helps maintain the flow of the survey and minimizes the likelihood of missing or inconsistent information. You have the option of carry-forwarding every response the respondent chose or every response they did not choose.

Customise and personalize your surveys specifically for your audience to provide them with a unique and engaging survey experience with SurveySensum!

4. Piping Logic

Imagine you’re answering a question about your car, and you say you drive a sedan. 

Piping Logic then takes that information and uses it in the next questions. So, instead of generic questions, you might get something like, “As a sedan driver, how happy are you with how much gas your car uses?” It’s like the survey remembers what you told it and uses that to ask you questions that make more sense for you. 

This makes the survey feel more like a chat, keeping the respondents interested.

The Piping logic technique allows respondents to receive more tailored responses by incorporating a response from a prior inquiry into a later one. This method can help maintain a sense of coherence and relevancy throughout the survey by asking follow-up questions based on prior responses.

Now that you know all the different types of survey logic, employ them in your survey and make your questions conversational and fun to answer with SurveySensum!

Let’s now explore all the benefits that employing survey logic has to offer!

10 Benefits of Employing Survey Logic

Survey logic offers several benefits that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of data collection:

1. Relevance:

Benefit: Respondents only see questions that are relevant to their experiences or previous responses. 

Impact: Increases respondent engagement and ensures meaningful feedback.

2. Reduced Survey Question Fatigue:

Benefit: By skipping irrelevant questions, survey logic minimizes respondent fatigue.

Impact: Improves completion rates and data accuracy as respondents are more likely to complete the entire survey.

3. Personalization:

Benefit: Customizes the survey experience based on individual responses.

Impact: Creates a more user-friendly and engaging survey, enhancing the overall respondent experience.

4. Efficient Data Collection:

Benefit: Eliminates redundancy, focusing on gathering precise information.

Impact: Saves time for both respondents and researchers, streamlining data analysis.

5. Improved Accuracy:

Benefit: Enables more accurate data by tailoring questions to specific respondent segments.

Impact: Enhances the quality of collected data, providing more actionable insights.

6. Strategic Insights:

Benefit: Allows for strategic questioning based on respondent behavior or characteristics.

Impact: Provides deeper insights into specific areas of interest, helping researchers make informed decisions.

7. Enhanced Survey Design:

Benefit: Supports the creation of dynamic and interactive surveys.

Impact: Makes surveys more interesting and relevant, contributing to a positive respondent experience.

8. Segmentation:

Benefit: Enables the segmentation of respondents for targeted analysis.

Impact: Facilitates in-depth understanding of diverse respondent groups, leading to more nuanced insights.

9. Cost-Efficiency:

Benefit: Reduces unnecessary questions, optimizing survey resources.

Impact: Maximizes the value of survey efforts by focusing on essential information.

10. Flexibility:

Benefit: Provides flexibility to adapt surveys in real-time based on ongoing responses.

Impact: Allows for agility in data collection, ensuring surveys remain current and relevant.

Now that you know the benefits of survey logic, why wait? Start designing your surveys today!

Let’s get to know in what ways can survey logic be practiced to make the most of your surveys!

Top 5 Practices of Survey Logic

Survey logic can be practiced in various ways that enhance and heighten the respondent’s survey experience. Here are a few things to keep in mind while deploying survey logic:

1. Clearly Define Objectives: Clearly outline the survey objectives and the specific information you aim to gather. This clarity helps in designing logical pathways that align with research goals.

2. Start Simple: Begin with straightforward logic rules before incorporating more complex branching. This ensures a smoother user experience and easier survey management.

3. Test Thoroughly: Conduct thorough testing to identify any glitches or inconsistencies in the logic flow. Testing helps in refining the survey and ensuring a seamless experience for respondents.

4. Segment Respondents: Use logic to segment respondents based on characteristics or behaviors. This allows for targeted questioning and more nuanced analysis.

5. Regularly Review and Update: Regularly review and update survey logic based on changing research needs or evolving respondent behavior. This ensures that the survey remains relevant and effective over time.

Survey logic, therefore, can be utilized in a variety of ways that offer the user a range of benefits to elevate their survey game!

Conclusion

Survey logic revolutionizes the survey experience by tailoring questions to respondents’ answers, ensuring relevance, engagement, and precision. Understanding its types—Jump, Display, Carry Forward, and Piping logic—enables a strategic survey design that adapts to individual behaviors. The benefits, ranging from increased completion rates to efficient data collection, make survey logic indispensable.

To create a survey for your organization that can help you achieve higher responses and efficient data collection, you need to look no further than SurveySensum. SurveySensum has everything you need, including a user-friendly interface, seamless navigation across platforms, and customizable designs that will make your surveys stand out. Not to mention the rapid preview and survey testing tools, which guarantee that your masterpiece is prepared to wow respondents right away!