How switching devices affects conditional sequences

If a survey contains conditional sequences to show different sets of questions to mobile and desktop participants, the conditional logic may not work when they switch devices while completing a conditional sequence.

Example

Your survey contains a conditional sequence for mobile participants. Some participants enter this sequence on a mobile device and then switch to a desktop computer before completing the sequence. As a result, the following occurs:

  • The survey appears in HTML view on the computer.
  • The system question data changes to reflect the desktop environment.
  • Because they began the sequence on a mobile device, they see questions from the mobile conditional sequence instead of questions from the desktop conditional sequence.

Device-switching has the following implications for survey data and the responding experience:

  • System question data: system questions only record the last device used, not all devices used throughout the survey.

  • Device-specific questions displayed out of context: participants may see questions that do not make sense in the context of the device being used.

  • Blank data: device-specific questions in the conditional sequence may not be displayed. Therefore, you may be left with blank data for some questions.
Note: After participants answer the questions in the conditional sequence, the survey reverts to the correct device-specific logic.