Using Skips, Edits and Markers

Sometimes a questionnaire follows a sequential path from the first element in the Specifications File to the last, one item at a time. Often, however, you will want to skip one or more items based on responses to previous items, or loop back to previous questions to resolve an inconsistency.

Skip, Edit, and Marker Elements provide flexible and powerful ways to control the flow of your questionnaire.

With paper questionnaires, Skip and Edit Element instructions are written for the interviewer or respondent. Automated forms (CAPI, ACASI, Web, and Data Entry) perform skips and edits automatically. Data for the Skipped Elements are recorded with the specified skipped value (default of 9..9).

Use Skip or Edit Elements to move forward or back a specific number of elements (1-5) or to move to a specific fixed point in the questionnaire. To move to a specified location, you must use a Marker Element. Marker Elements are only visible in the Design Studio and in the Codebook; they will not be visible in a CAPI, ACASI, or Web interview, Data Entry, or in Printable Questionnaire documentation.

To decide whether to move a specific number of elements (1-5) or move to a Marker Element, you can use the subway analogy. You can tell someone either to get off the subway in three stops, or to get off at a specific station.

• If you have only a short distance to go, it’s easy to count stops
• If you have a long way to go, it’s easier to look for a specific named destination

The same rationale works in deciding when to use a Marker:

• Use Markers when skipping larger sections (required if more than 5 elements)
• Use Markers if you anticipate adding or deleting items in the skipped section