Statistics is a mathematical science which deals with the collection, analysis, interpretation or explanation and presentation of data. It also provides the means for prediction and forecasting based on data. Statistics as a tool is applicable to a wide variety of academic disciplines, from the natural and social sciences to the humanities, government and business. Its methods can be used to summarise or describe a collection of data; this is called descriptive statistics. In addition, patterns in the data may be modelled in a way that accounts for randomness and uncertainty in the observations, and are then used to draw inferences about the process or population being studied; this is called inferential statistics.