Although questions within the range of a skip are normally pre-filled with blanks, going backwards through a questionnaire, reviewing and changing a response upon which a skip depends, may produce data inconsistency.
When the global automatic cleaning option is active (see Field Settings > Project Field Options), the content of every question (except imported ones) within the range of any programmed forward skip is erased. In other words, questions that should not have been asked are filled with blanks when the skip takes place. Any further references (recalls, quotas, skips, etc.) to the contents of these questions will be updated accordingly.
Some situations, however, require that automatic cleaning be disabled for certain skips only. To override automatic cleaning for any chosen skip, prefix the alias or reference to the destination question with a slash character "/". In the Choices tab, right-click in the Skip to column, and select Non-cleaning in the pop-up menu. A slash is added in the cell. Right-click again, then select either + or Absolute to select the appropriate question.
|
Examples |
Result |
|
skip to /DEST |
Questions within the range of the skip will not be cleaned. |
|
skip to /+3 |
Questions within the range of the skip will not be cleaned. |
Questions are not cleaned whenever:
Branching is initiated through the use of a hot key or the ? key.
The destination of the skip is LASTQ (see Special Questions).
The question’s content has been imported.
The destination of the skip is a previous question (backwards skip).
Notes:
When automatic cleaning is activated, if the interviewer goes back and changes a previously recorded response, it is then no longer possible to jump forward directly to the last question filled (using ESC|END). The interviewer must pass through every subsequent question, according to the new path, and confirm all A
When a question is cleaned, its value is set to 0 (zero).