Resolving Conflicting Evidence in Photopolymer Engineering: State Mismatch, Measurement Bias and Decision Rules

Conflicting photopolymer evidence is often treated as a statistical disagreement when the underlying studies did not measure the same material state, process state or endpoint. This review proposes a staged conflict-resolution framework. It first tests state comparability, then measurement comparability, then bias and uncertainty, and only then considers synthesis. The framework distinguishes resolvable heterogeneity from genuine physical contradiction and defines decision rules for engineering use when evidence remains discordant. The objective is to prevent inappropriate averaging and to preserve useful boundary information contained in apparently incompatible results. ER-396.