Conditions
Key Considerations
Use only one branch in each condition if possible; if there is an alternative option add this as a statement.
Always use the true branch if possible to do so.
Questions must remain in the correct order, exactly as they appear in the original questionnaire.
Multiple conditions can be derived from one question.
Conditions can apply to more than one question.
A Condition is a set of logic that enables questions to be asked only in certain cases. If a question is asked which is dependent on the answer to another question, a condition is needed. Conditions are usually a narrowing of who answers a question or are directional. Conditions have a 'True branch', where the condition text leading to the next question is true. They also have a 'False branch', where the response to the condition text leading to the next question is false and so does not lead to the next question. Only one branch in each condition is usually used and if possible this should be the true branch.
In Archivist a condition is made up of the label, condition text, condition logic and it has a positional element. The condition gets labelled after the question that the condition depends on. This is usually the preceding question.
Most conditions have a straightforward structure which funnels certain respondents towards the next question. For example, if question 1 is 'Do you smoke?' with the answers 'Yes' or 'No', then further questions might only be required for those who answered 'Yes'. This will lead to the next question being situated in the true branch. If the answer is 'No' the respondent skips to the next question.
It is common that the condition is included in the same sentence as the question text, in which case this needs splitting to avoid repetition. In Example 1 below, 'If yes,' becomes the condition text and the 'please could you describe' becomes the question text. Note that the 'p' in 'please' is kept in lower case. There is often a natural break such as a comma to help with the decision on how to split text. But if not, then you must use your own judgement.
Labelling
The label should be in the format c_qquestionref, for example c_q18. The condition label contains a collapsed version of the question label it references. That is, any underscores which are in the question label are removed from the condition label in order to distinguish between the question number and the condition number. For example if a condition was labelled c_q14_ii it would not be able to tell if this refers to question 14_ii or whether it is the second condition from question 14. If it was referring to question 14_ii then the condition label would be c_q14ii. See Construct a Label for more on how to name conditions.
The following list details the examples which are included within this wiki page.
Condition examples
Example 1 ALSPAC My Son/Daughter’s Health and Behaviour
Questionnaire layout:
Archivist view (alspac_94_msdhab):
Using the else branch
In Example 2, the true branch cannot be used because the questions must appear in the correct order. Question A13di must come next but this is not true to the condition ‘Go to A13e below', and so it is added to the false branch. The directional statement ‘Go to A13e below’ is incorporated into the condition text and the true branch is left empty.
Example 2 Questionnaire: ALSPAC My Son/Daughter’s Health and Behaviour
Questionnaire layout:
Archivist view (alspac_94_msdhab):
Multiple options for condition text
There are occasions when there are two (or more) options for the condition text. In this case, the true branch is used if possible, and the alternative option is added as a statement. If both options write to the true branch, the most descriptive text is used.
In Example 3 below, 'If yes' is the true branch and is entered as the condition. ‘If no, go to A4 on page 4’ is entered as a statement, positioned before the condition. If a directional statement is on its own (with or without a directional arrow) or directs you to the next question, it does not have any meaning and as such it is left out. In Example 4 below, 'Go to Section D' is ignored.
Example 3 Questionnaire: ALSPAC My Son/Daughter’s Health and Behaviour
Questionnaire layout:
Archivist view (alspac_94_msdhab):
Example 4 Questionnaire: ALSPAC My Son/Daughter’s Health and Behaviour
Questionnaire layout:
Archivist view (alspac_94_msdhab):
Multiple conditions from one question
There could be cases where two (or more) conditions are dependent on the same question. They are named after the (first) question they refer to. See Construct a Label on how to name multiple conditions. In Example 5 below, there are two conditions, (If "wet.") and (If "dry."), which are both named after question 8(a). However, the conditions reference both 8(a) and 8(b). Answering question 8(c) will be conditional on answering 'wet' to question 8(a) or 8(b). Answering question 8(d) will be conditional on answering 'Never wet' to question 8(a) and 8(b).
Example 5 Questionnaire: NSHD School Nurse’s Interview with Mother 1952
Questionnaire layout:
Archivist view (nshd_52_iwm):
Constructed conditions
There are some cases when there is not enough text provided in the questionnaire to create a condition and so we must construct it. A simple case of a constructed condition is where an arrow or dash plus the words 'go to' in the questionnaire direct the respondent to the next question.
Please see Example 6 below for the constructed condition literal with “Go to”. In this example, the condition literal is created by adding 'If category to question question number condition text if included’. The condition text becomes ‘If don’t have a job to question G3d Go to G9 Page 29’.
Example 6 Questionnaire: ALSPAC - A Toddler in the House – Partners Questionnaire
Questionnaire layout:
Archivist view (alspac_93_atith):
In Example 7 below, instead, the condition is represented by a dash ( – ). In this example, the dash is followed by the words “go to 1.24”, which is included in the condition text. Much like when there is an arrow representing the condition, in this case the full condition text will be constructed as such: “If No to question 1.21 go to 1.24”.
Example 7 Questionnaire: SWS 4 Year Child Questionnaire
Questionnaire layout:
Archivist view (sws_04_cq):
Example 8 below is similar to Example 6 where the condition is represented by an arrow. In Example 6, the conditional text after the condition is “Go to G9 Page 29” and is included in the condition, whereas in Example 7 it is ‘29’. If we were to follow the constructed text formula 'If category to question question number condition text if included’, the condition text would be 'If Get a full-time job to question 27 29’. This does not make sense, therefore we do not include ’29’ in the condition text, and the condition text becomes 'If Get a full-time job] to question 27’. This is preferable to adding additional text which is not included in the questionnaire.
Example 8 Questionnaire: US - COVID-19 Wave 6 Youth Self-completion Questionnaire
Questionnaire layout:
Archivist view (us_covid_yq6):