How to create a go-to command (1)

Similar to a skip command, a goto command is used to direct a respondent to another location in the questionnaire, or to exit the questionnaire, when a particular condition occurs. Typically this condition is a combination of previous responses. Both these commands also require that the question to skip to or goto must have a label or ID. The main difference between the skip command and the goto command is that a goto command may have a complex condition (a combination of responses from various previous questions) and also a goto command can be ‘unconditional’, meaning that the ‘jump’ to the new location in the questionnaire is always done, if we reach this point in the questionnaire. 

A typical example could be if you have a multiple choice question and you want those having answered a certain category (e.g. Ford in the above example) to go to the gender question.

The following rules apply to GoTo commands:

GoTo’s between questions

  1. Unconditional jump (just do it)
  2. Conditional jump (based on an answer given)

GoTo’s are always to

  1. Another Question or Section
  2. Next Section (first valid question in next valid section)
  3. Exit (Terminate the interview)

Note: If auto filled questions (e.g. time stamps) are used in the end of the questionnaire, be sure to goto these and not directly to “Exit”.

To create a GoTo command is quite simple:

  1. From the Home menu: Select other, insert a goto-element in the question view where you want it.
  2. From the options and specifications menu specify the following:
    1. Use the Filter Builder to specify the condition (“condition”)
    2. Specify the destination question or section using the dropdown menu (“Target”).

Note: Best practice will often be to use a series of filters instead of goto’s. This is specially the case when questions may move around during the questionnaire creation process and the goto’s might end up “sending” the respondents in unwanted directions. Note that the goto’s are dependent on that you actually reach this point in the questionnaire. Many goto’s tend to make the questionnaire very difficult to understand. We recommend the use of sections and filters on sections and questions, whenever possible, as this makes the questionnaire flow easier to understand.