What item type must be used in a linkage path?

What item type must be used in a linkage path?

• A. A multi-select item
• B. A single response item
• C. A text entry
• D. A numeric value

Answer: (B)

In a linkage path, the next item is chosen based on a specific answer from a previous item. That decision needs a single, definite value to map to the following step. A single-response item provides exactly that: one selected option that cleanly identifies which path to take. If you used a multi-select item, the respondent could produce several values, creating ambiguity about which branch to follow. A text entry would yield free-form input that's not reliably mappable to a single route. A numeric value could work only if the system is set up to interpret codes, but in standard linkage path setups the clear, deterministic signal comes from a single-response item. So the required item type is a single-response item.

In a linkage path, the next item is chosen based on a specific answer from a previous item. That decision needs a single, definite value to map to the following step. A single-response item provides exactly that: one selected option that cleanly identifies which path to take. If you used a multi-select item, the respondent could produce several values, creating ambiguity about which branch to follow. A text entry would yield free-form input that's not reliably mappable to a single route. A numeric value could work only if the system is set up to interpret codes, but in standard linkage path setups the clear, deterministic signal comes from a single-response item. So the required item type is a single-response item.