In this article:
Study Default Logic
By default, respondents are routed sequentially through a study - from one section to the next. This means you don’t need to program logic that simply moves respondents from Question A to Question B. That happens automatically.
The main use of logic is to redirect respondents away from the default sequence. This can happen in two ways:
If a respondent selects a specific option, they can be routed to a different question or section.
If a respondent does not select an option, they can be routed to a different question or section.
Rule of thumb: Unless otherwise specified, respondents will always proceed to the next sequential question.
Logic-to-Logic Routing
Sometimes studies require more advanced rules - beyond “if X, then go to Y.” For these cases, studies support logic-to-logic routing, which links multiple logic conditions together.
This allows you to build chains of conditions where respondents are shown only the questions that apply to them.
A use case for logic to logic routing would be follow-ups to multi-select questions.
Example: You ask respondents which fast food restaurants they have visited, then route them through a logic chain so they only see the follow-up questions related to the restaurants they selected.
How to set up Logic-to-Logic Routing
Program each logic block before the question/section it controls.
In the Destination field, select the next logic block in the sequence.
Repeat for each block until your chain is complete.
Double-check by hovering over each logic block - arrows will show the routing paths.
Avoiding Redundancies in Routing Logic
When setting up logic, keep in mind that some conditions are already covered by defaults. Over-programming can make your logic harder to manage without adding value.
You do not need to use logic to route respondents to the next question - this happens by default.
If you’ve set up logic to route respondents who selected A or B away from a section, you do not need to create additional logic routing those who selected C or D back into that section.
In screening questions, avoid duplicating conditions by using both easy logic and routing logic for the same rule. One is enough.
If you use the condition “is not” in routing logic, you do not need to separately program the “is” condition - it is already implied.
Understanding How Multiple Answer Values are Evaluated
When you add multiple answer options to a single routing condition, Dig One first evaluates the relationship between the selected values (AND or OR) and then applies the is or is not operator to the result. This means the logic is evaluated as a grouped expression rather than as a series of independent comparisons.
"Is" conditions
Use is when you want to check whether respondents selected specific answer(s).
Configuration | Meaning |
is + OR | The respondent selected at least one of the listed answers. |
is + AND | The respondent selected all of the listed answers. |
Example
Suppose respondents are asked:
Which chocolate flavours do you like? (Select all that apply.)
Options include:
Milk Chocolate
Dark Chocolate
White Chocolate
Caramel
Mint
Examples:
is Milk Chocolate OR Dark Chocolate
✔️ True if the respondent selected Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, or both.
is Milk Chocolate AND Dark Chocolate
✔️ True only if the respondent selected both Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate.
"Is not" conditions
When using is not, the operator is applied to the grouped expression.
Configuration | Meaning |
is not + OR | The respondent selected none of the listed answers. |
is not + AND | The respondent did not select all of the listed answers. |
This distinction is important.
Suppose you want to skip respondents who don't like either Milk Chocolate or Dark Chocolate.
The correct routing would be:
If Question 1 is not
Milk Chocolate
OR
Dark Chocolate
→ Skip to the next section
This evaluates as:
NOT (Milk Chocolate OR Dark Chocolate)
The condition is only true if the respondent selected neither Milk Chocolate nor Dark Chocolate.
For example:
Selected Answers | Condition Result |
Milk Chocolate | ❌ False (do not skip) |
Dark Chocolate | ❌ False (do not skip) |
Milk Chocolate + Caramel | ❌ False (do not skip) |
White Chocolate | ✅ True (skip) |
Caramel + Mint | ✅ True (skip) |
Why AND behaves differently
If the same condition was configured using AND instead:
If Question 1 is not
Milk Chocolate
AND
Dark Chocolate
The logic evaluates as:
NOT (Milk Chocolate AND Dark Chocolate)
This condition is true unless the respondent selected both Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate.
For example:
Selected Answers | Condition Result |
Milk Chocolate | ✅ True |
Dark Chocolate | ✅ True |
White Chocolate | ✅ True |
Milk Chocolate + Dark Chocolate | ❌ False |
This often produces unexpected results, as respondents who selected only one of the listed answers still satisfy the is not + AND condition.
Quick Reference
A helpful way to remember how multiple values are evaluated:
Configuration | Meaning |
is + OR | Selected any of these answers |
is + AND | Selected all of these answers |
is not + OR | Selected none of these answers |
is not + AND | Did not select all of these answers |
This distinction is especially important when building routing logic for multi-select questions, as using OR instead of AND (or vice versa) can significantly change which respondents match the condition.