Futures studies, futures research or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people may live and work in the future. Futures studies scholars make predictions of the future and aim at systematically exploring alternatives to the predictions. Futures studies are a branch of the social sciences and an extension to the field of history. Futures studies seeks to understand what is likely to continue and what could plausibly change.