Answering a Sequence Flow Question: The Respondent's View¶

Sequence Flow is one section type that has no separately-authored questions of its own - the section itself is the interaction. Understanding exactly how that interaction feels to a respondent helps you write clearer instructions and set the right expectations for how long it takes.

Free Placement, Not Forced Top-to-Bottom¶

A respondent builds their sequence by tapping any slot in the arrangement and choosing an item to place there - they aren't required to fill slots in order from first to last. This means a respondent can start with the item they're most confident about, wherever it belongs in the sequence, rather than being forced to commit to their first-place choice before they've thought about the rest.

Clearing a Slot Doesn't Reshuffle Everything¶

If a respondent changes their mind and clears an item from a slot, the rest of their arrangement stays exactly as they left it - nothing else shifts or reorders automatically. This makes it easy for someone to revise one part of their sequence without losing the parts they were already happy with.

Full vs. Partial Arrangement¶

Some Sequence Flow sections ask respondents to place every item offered; others use an Arrangement Range and only require placing a subset - say, ranking the top 5 of 12 items rather than all 12. See How to Set Up a Sequence Flow Section (Full vs. Partial Ranking) for how this is configured, and How to Set Up a Sequence Flow Section for how it changes what a respondent is asked to do.

What Happens If They Reload Mid-Section¶

Sequence Flow doesn't carry the same reload exception that Pairwise Comparison does - a respondent's progress within a Sequence Flow section is preserved the same way progress is saved throughout the rest of the survey. See How Respondents Resume an In-Progress Survey for the general picture.

Writing Good Instructions¶

Because the interaction itself (tap a slot, choose an item) is simple but the concept of "sequence" can mean different things depending on your research question, use the section's instructional text to clarify what the order should represent - priority, chronological steps, preference, or whatever your study actually needs respondents to encode into their arrangement.

FAQ¶

Can a respondent see their full arrangement before submitting?
Check your specific survey's interface for how the current state of the arrangement is displayed as a respondent builds it.

Does the item pool size affect how long this section takes?
Yes - more items generally means more time spent arranging, especially for a full-arrangement section compared to a partial one covering only a subset.

Is there a way to undo a placement other than clearing the slot?
Clearing a slot and placing a different item is the way to change a placement - no separate undo history is part of the interaction.

Does this section work the same in Chat Interface and Traditional Form?
The underlying interaction (tap a slot, choose an item) is the same regardless of take experience - see Chat vs. Traditional: Choosing How Respondents Take Your Survey for how take experience affects the survey more broadly.

For how to read the results this interaction produces, see Reading Sequence Flow Results: Consensus Routes vs. Averaged Rank.