A securities and investment analysis technique in which the investor filters a large set of possible investments by separating according to a range of values for a predetermined set of variables. Screens often require computers in order to quickly sort through the variables. For example, an investor interested in a stock with a high dividend payout and large market capitalization would apply those two variables as screens. After running a query on a computer, the results will show stocks that fit those two requirements. The more variables used, the more narrow the search becomes. also called filter.