How to Design a Database Schema for a Q&A Survey with Conditional Questions?

Database Schema for a Q&A Survey with Conditional Questions

Conditional questions, where subsequent questions are displayed based on the response to a previous question, present a challenge for database design. Here's a solution that utilizes multiple tables and relationships:

Survey

• Tables: Survey

Questions

• Tables: Question
• Relationship: Many-to-One with Survey
• Additional Columns: Logic to specify which questions are displayed based on the answer to previous questions (e.g., show_if_question_id)

Answers

• Tables: Answer
• Relationship: Many-to-One with Question
• Additional Columns: Link to the specific answer that triggers the display of conditional questions (e.g., conditional_answer_id)

PossibleAnswers

• Tables: PossibleAnswer
• Relationship: Many-to-One with Questions
• Columns: Possible answer options for each question

This schema allows for the following functionality:

• Storing the logic for displaying conditional questions in the Questions table through the "show_if_question_id" column.
• Linking conditional questions to specific answers in the Answers table via the "conditional_answer_id" column.
• Defining possible answer options for each question in the PossibleAnswers table.

By combining these tables and relationships, the database can effectively store the information needed to support conditional questions in a Q&A survey. Note that the handling of the conditional logic itself will likely be implemented on the application side, as indicated by the user's edit.

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