At times in history it has been said that women are better than men. At other times it has been said that men are better than women. Both are wrong. Research's Emphasis on Differences Social science research is based on a search for differences. Since we don t look for similarities, we don t find them and thus perpetuate an overemphasis on the differences between girls and boys.
Differences are at the basis of research design and theory.
Differences can be proved while similarities cannot. Thus in a research study, if you find differences, you have something. Your research is more likely to be seen as meaningful, and it is more likely to be published than it would be if you didn t find differences. Finding similarities isn t cur-rently an option, regardless of what your data say. When research focuses on differences and when differences are all that is reported, difference-based stereotypes are reinforced and continued.