Branching Questions

Branching questions direct a candidate through a different path of subsequent questions depending on the answer given by the candidate.

For example, assuming that in order to be eligible for a job in Australia a candidate must be an Australian citizen, a permanent Australian resident or must have a valid work visa, a candidate may be asked the following question:

The question shown above could be configured as a branching question, whereby if the candidate selects answer C, they must answer an additional question as follows:

Candidates who select answer a, b or d for question 1 would be directed to skip question 2, which does not apply to them. Instead, those candidates would be branched to a different question.

Branching can only be applied between two questions on the same page or between a question and a question group on the same page. The direction of branching must be down the page. For example, consider a questionnaire page with four questions, as illustrated below.

In this example, Question 1 could be branched to any other question on the page as it is the top-most question. Question 2 could be branched to any other question on the page with the exception of Question 1. Question 3 can only be branched to Question 4. Question 4 cannot be branched as no questions appear below it on the page.

Questions linked to branching questions are always visible on a questionnaire page but are disabled (greyed out) until the candidate selects a response that directs them to a linked question, at which pint the relevant linked question becomes enabled to allow an answer to be provided. This mechanism is used to control the candidate's path through the flow of branched questions on a page.

Branching and Mandatory Questions

The branching path for a branching question may be such that it causes candidates to skip mandatory questions on a questionnaire page. This is illustrated in the example below.

In the example above, Question 1 is a branching question that directs candidates to Question 2 (Answer A) or Question 2 (Answer B).

Although Question 2 is flagged as mandatory, in this scenario it is mandatory only for those candidates who select Answer A for Question 1. Candidates who select Answer B skip the otherwise mandatory Question 2 and are not required to answer it prior to submitting the questionnaire.

Therefore, when configuring branching questions, it is important to consider the branching flow and how it may result in bypassing of certain questions.

Which Question Types can be Branching Questions?

Branching can be applied to questions with the following answer types:

numeric
yes/no
value list
date.