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Blocks

Organize Research Surveys With Blocks

Use blocks to separate consent, screening, treatments, outcomes, demographics, and reusable study sections.

Why Blocks Matter

Blocks organize a research survey into sections that are easy to scan, test, route, and reuse. In academic survey software, blocks are especially useful for separating consent, screening, treatment materials, outcomes, demographics, and end screens.

Block Builder: Add Block

Survey Editor

No-persist demo using the real builder shell.

Add a Block

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Good block structure also makes Flow easier to reason about. Instead of branching between individual questions, you can route respondents between meaningful study sections.

Create Blocks In The Builder

  1. Step 1: Open Block Builder. From Surveys, open the draft and use the Block Builder tab.

    Step 1: Open Block Builder

    Survey Editor

    No-persist demo using the real builder shell.

    Add a Block

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  2. Step 2: Add the first section. Click Add block and name it for the study section, such as Consent or Screening.

    Step 2: Add Block

    Survey Editor

    No-persist demo using the real builder shell.

    Add a Block

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  3. Step 3: Add questions inside the block. Keep related question types together so reviewers can understand the purpose of the section.

    Step 3: Question Types

    Block Builder: Question Type

    Use the question type selector to switch between multiple choice, slider, grid, ranking, and more.

    Closing text
    Redirect (optional)
  4. Step 4: Repeat for major sections. Create separate blocks for treatment materials, outcomes, demographics, and end screens.

    Step 4: Add More Blocks

    Block Builder: Research Survey Template

    A complete 5-block research survey: Consent → Screening → Treatment → Outcomes → Demographics → End Screen.

    Timing
    Breaks
    Validation
    Shuffle

    Use one random flip direction for selected flip-enabled questions.

    reCAPTCHA
    Data Collection

    Records browser type, browser version, operating system, screen resolution, and user agent. Not shown to respondents.

    Question Names

    Simple assigns Ask1, Ask2… in full survey question order (including follow-ups).

    Closing text
    Redirect (optional)

    Trash is empty.

  5. Step 5: Open Flow after the block list is stable. Connect blocks with Flow once the structure is clear enough to route and test.

    Step 5: Flow Canvas

    Block Builder
    Preview
    Deploy

    Flow Canvas

    Interactive routing surface from the app, running in no-persist help mode.

    Consent and Study Intro

    1 question

    Political Knowledge Block

    2 questions

    Control Message

    1 question

    Treatment Message

    1 question

    Outcome Measures

    2 questions

    Survey Ends

    Anchors explicit end of survey

Recommended Block Structure

  • Consent block: present study information and ask for consent.
  • Screening block: collect eligibility and quota variables.
  • Treatment block: show content, stimuli, or randomized materials.
  • Outcome block: collect the main dependent variables.
  • Demographics block: collect background covariates.
  • End Survey blocks: create completion, ineligible, and quota-full endings.

Block Builder: Add Block

Survey Editor

No-persist demo using the real builder shell.

Add a Block

Trash is empty.

Use Blocks With Flow

After the block order is stable, connect blocks in Flow. Use branching and skip logic for eligibility paths, experimental conditions for treatment assignment, and survey quotas for target response counts.

Flow: Conditions and Routing

Block Builder
Preview
Deploy

Flow Canvas

Interactive routing surface from the app, running in no-persist help mode.

Consent and Study Intro

1 question

Political Knowledge Block

2 questions

Control Message

1 question

Treatment Message

1 question

Outcome Measures

2 questions

Survey Ends

Anchors explicit end of survey

Reuse Blocks Across Studies

If your lab or class repeats the same consent language, validated scale, screener, or demographic battery, save the block to the Library. Reuse keeps wording consistent across related social science research surveys. See Reusable Research Survey Materials in the Library.

Block Builder: Add Block

Survey Editor

No-persist demo using the real builder shell.

Add a Block

Trash is empty.

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