Using Filters

Filters are used to display questions based on the results of previous questions. Pre-Question Filters are applied by the survey engine before the question is processed. Post-Question Filters are applied to a question after it has been processed. Both options are used to solve skip pattern requirements. Follow the steps below to enter a filter.

Click the Create Filters for this Question box on the Questions Options window.
Click Build Pre-Question Filter.

You can enter text directly into the field. Using the Filter Wizard is recommended, however, to eliminate typing errors.
Use the Filter Wizard to construct the skip pattern logic for this question. You will use Boolean logic for your Filter Logic field. Boolean logic is the use of and/or in combination with parenthesis. The syntax, the way you construct your logic statement, is important. The basic syntax is as follows:

{Question ID [logical operator] (= ,!,<,>,<=,>=;[],[,],[NB],[B],[L])code number}
Select the question to use to build the filter.
Select the conditional operator to compare against the response option.

=	Equals
<	Less than
>	Greater than
!	Not equal to
[ ]	Containing
[	Beginning with
]	Ending with
[NB]	Not blank
[B]	Is blank
[BC]	Branch code Only show this question to a respondent for a specific branch code in a looping sequence.
[BN]	Branch number Only show this question to a respondent for specific branch number in a looping sequence
[L]#	Has length of
[CNT]	Count number of responses Example: {Q1 CNT > 5} Only show question if the number of responses in Q1 is greater than 5.
[SOUNDX]	Sounds like Click here for more information.

Select a response option for the selected question.
Choose whether to add additional parameters to your statement.
Select a question to skip to if the respondent meets the filter requirements.

Additional Notes about the Filter Wizard

‚ ƒ „ … † ‡

‚

„

…

†

‡

	The filter builds in this window.
‚	Use these buttons to delete a filter statement or add parentheses to change the logic of the statement.
ƒ	Select questions using the dropdown list.
„	Use to insert *conditional operator* to compare against the response option.
…	Responses for the question automatically display. Use this area to select the desired response value.
†	Click to *Add* to the filter.
‡	Select the question to *skip to* when respondent meets filter requirements.

Example Filters

Below are several examples. The last example uses the skipto features, which allows you to filter many questions with one statement.

Filters Using One Question

Example 1

If the question to filter by is:

Question ID: Q4
Question Text: Are you employed?
Response Codes and Labels: 1=yes ; 2=no

If the question to filter is:

Question ID: Q5
Question Text: What is your occupation?

The filter statement for the question: Q5. What is your occupation? would be {Q4=1}.

The logic in the above filter statement is: If the answer Question 4 is yes then ask Question 5: What is your occupation?

Example 2

If the question to filter by is:

Question ID: Q7
Question Text: Please rate the product for usability?
Response Codes and Labels: 5=excellent ; 4=very good ; 3=average ; 2=poor ; 1=very poor

If the question to filter is:

Question ID: Q8
Question Text: Why did you rate the product poor/very poor?

The filter statement for the question: Q8. Why did you rate the product poor/very poor? would be {Q8=1} or {Q8=2}.

The logic in the above filter statement is: If the answer Question 7 is poor or very poor then ask Question 8: Why did you rate the product poor/very poor?

Filters Using Two Questions

Example 1

The first question to filter by is:

Question ID: Q10
Question Text: Do you drink orange juice?
Response Codes and Labels: 1=yes ; 2=no

The second question to filter by is:

Question ID: Q11
Question Text: When did you last purchase orange juice?
Response Codes and Labels: 1=past week; 2=past month ; 3=past six months

If the Question to Filter is:

Question ID: Q12
Question Text: c

The filter statement for the question: Q12. When did you last purchase orange juice? would be {Q10=1} and {Q11=1}

The logic in the above filter statement is: If the answer to Question 10 is yes and the answer to Question 11 is past week then ask Question 12: Why did you buy orange juice in the past week?

Example 2

If you need to filter using two questions, the first question to filter by is:

Question ID: Q2
Question Text: What is your age?
Response Codes and Labels: 1=12 and under ; 2=13-18 ; 3=over 18

The second question to filter by is:

Question ID: Q15
Question Text: Please rate the product for usability?
Response Codes and Labels: 5=excellent ; 4=very good ; 3=average ; 2=poor ; 1=very poor

If the Question to filter is:

Question ID: Q16
Question Text: As a teenager why did you rate the product poor/very poor?

The filter statement for the question, Q16. Why did you rate the product poor/very poor? would be {Q2=2} and ({Q15=1} or {Q15=2}).

The logic in the above filter statement is: If the answer to Question 15 is poor or very poor and the respondent's answer to Q2 is 13-18 then ask on teenagers Question 16: Why did you rate the product poor/very poor?

Using the Skipto Filter

To use a major filter known as the skipto filter, use the following syntax. If the question to filter by is:

Question ID: Q4
Question Text: Are you employed?
Response Codes and Labels: 1=yes ; 2=no

If the Question to Filter is:
Question ID: Q5, Q6 and Q7

The filter statement for the question, Q5. What is your occupation? is:
{Q4=2} skipto Q8

The logic in the above filter statement is: If the answer Question 4 is no then do not ask Question 5, Question 6 or Question 7.

Post Question Filter Logic

The syntax for Post-Question Filter Logic is exactly the same as Pre-Question Filter Logic. The Post-Question Filter only supports the skipto function.

The question is filtered after processing. Using the last example above and making it a Post-Question Filter looks as follows:

Question ID: Q4
Question Text: Are you employed?
Response Codes and Labels: 1=yes ; 2=no

If the Question to Filter is:
Question ID: Q5, Q6 and Q7

Because this is a Post-Question Filter the filter statement will appear in Q4 not in Q5. The filter statement for the question, Q4. Are you employed? is: {Q4=2} skipto Q8

The logic in the above filter statement is: If the answer to Question 4 is no then do not ask Question 5, Question 6 or Question 7.