Contradictory Findings Resolver

Treat these modules as part of the skill, not as optional reading.

Input Validation

Valid input:

• two or more papers, abstracts, study summaries, or evidence statements on the same topic that appear to disagree
• one review claim plus one or more primary studies that appear inconsistent
• one biomedical topic plus a user-stated contradiction to resolve

Optional additions:

• target conflict type to focus on
• disease context
• intervention / biomarker / target / exposure context
• whether the user wants citation-priority guidance at the end
• preferred output depth

Examples:

• “These two sepsis biomarker papers reach opposite conclusions. Explain why.”
• “Why does one study show benefit and another show no benefit for the same intervention?”
• “Resolve the conflict between these TCGA-based and wet-lab studies.”
• “These immunotherapy papers disagree on predictive value. Break down the source of disagreement.”

Out-of-scope — respond with the redirect below and stop:

• requests to invent missing data or missing paper details to force a resolution
• requests to declare a clinical recommendation from unresolved evidence conflict
• requests to fabricate literature support for one side of the disagreement
• requests to compress multiple unrelated topics into one false contradiction analysis

“This skill resolves why apparently conflicting biomedical findings differ. Your request ([restatement]) requires invented missing details, clinical decision-making from unresolved conflict, or combines unrelated topics, which is outside its scope.”

Sample Triggers

• “These papers say opposite things. Explain the contradiction.”
• “Why do studies on this biomarker disagree?”
• “Separate real conflict from design mismatch.”
• “Find out whether these results truly contradict each other or just use different cohorts and endpoints.”

Core Function

This skill should:

• identify the exact point of disagreement,
• separate true contradiction from apparent contradiction,
• compare study boundaries before comparing conclusions,
• trace disagreement to population, endpoint, sample source, platform, model, validation, and bias-control differences,
• distinguish evidence-depth asymmetry from genuine result inversion,
• and output a conflict-resolution judgment that tells the user what the disagreement actually means.

This skill should not:

• treat all disagreement as equal,
• reduce contradiction analysis to a paper count,
• assume one nominally stronger design automatically resolves every conflict,
• force a single winner when boundary separation is the correct answer,
• or invent missing study details to make the conflict look cleaner than it is.

Execution — 8 Steps (always run in order)

Step 1 — Define the Exact Conflict

State precisely:

• what topic is shared,
• what claim appears to disagree,
• whether the disagreement is about direction, magnitude, significance, mechanism, predictive value, treatment effect, or practical interpretation.

Do not proceed until the conflict point is explicit.

Step 2 — Classify the Conflict Type

Apply references/conflict-type-taxonomy.md.

Classify the disagreement as one or more of:

• true directional contradiction
• partial conflict
• endpoint mismatch
• population or disease-context mismatch
• sample-source mismatch
• platform or assay mismatch
• model or adjustment disagreement
• validation-depth asymmetry
• interpretation overreach rather than result conflict

Step 3 — Compare Population, Endpoint, and Sample Source Boundaries

Apply references/population-endpoint-sample-source-rules.md.

Check whether the studies differ in:

• disease subtype, stage, severity, or treatment context
• inclusion / exclusion logic
• exposure or biomarker definition
• endpoint definition
• follow-up window
• tissue source, blood source, cell source, or specimen handling
• cohort origin and representativeness

If these differ materially, state whether the conflict is only apparent within non-overlapping study boundaries.

Step 4 — Compare Platform, Pipeline, Model, and Bias Control

Apply references/platform-model-and-bias-rules.md.

Check whether the studies differ in:

• assay platform or sequencing platform
• preprocessing, normalization, and batch handling
• feature-selection logic
• statistical model or causal-adjustment strategy
• thresholding / dichotomization choices
• missing-data handling
• covariate control
• leakage, overfitting, immortal time bias, indication bias, or other major distortions

Step 5 — Compare Evidence Depth and Validation Chain

Apply references/validation-and-evidence-depth-rules.md.

Separate clearly:

• exploratory findings
• internally supported findings
• externally validated findings
• orthogonally supported findings
• prospectively supported findings
• implementation-level evidence

If one side of the conflict is much less validated, state that explicitly.

Step 6 — Audit Interpretation Discipline

Check whether the contradiction is partly created by conclusion wording rather than underlying results.

Common patterns:

• modest association stated as strong effect
• null primary result overshadowed by subgroup emphasis
• retrospective predictive performance described as clinical utility
• mechanism plausibility described as proof
• non-significant difference described as equivalence

Step 7 — Resolve the Conflict Structurally

Apply references/conflict-resolution-logic.md.

Resolve the disagreement by one of the following routes:

• boundary separation — both findings may be compatible in different contexts
• evidence hierarchy resolution — one side is methodologically stronger and should anchor interpretation
• validation asymmetry resolution — one side remains exploratory while the other is more stable
• interpretation downgrade — the conflict is amplified by overclaiming rather than data inversion
• maintained uncertainty — the contradiction remains unresolved and should stay open

Step 8 — Perform a Self-Critical Final Check

Before finalizing, explicitly review:

• strongest reason the conflict may still remain unresolved,
• most assumption-sensitive point in the comparison,
• biggest missing detail that limits resolution,
• most likely false reconciliation risk,
• whether the final output should recommend cautious citation, selective citation by boundary, or no strong citation preference yet.

Mandatory Output Structure

A. Shared Topic and Conflict Definition

State:

• shared topic
• exact claim under disagreement
• what kind of conflict this is

B. Conflict Type Map

For each pair or cluster of studies, show:

• study label
• headline conclusion
• apparent conflict point
• classified conflict type

C. Boundary Comparison

Compare:

• population
• disease context
• endpoint definition
• sample source / specimen source
• cohort origin
• follow-up or timing window

D. Platform / Pipeline / Model Comparison

State whether preprocessing, platform, statistical model, or adjustment strategy differences could plausibly explain the disagreement.

E. Evidence Depth and Validation Comparison

Show whether one side is exploratory, internally checked, externally validated, orthogonally supported, or more implementation-ready.

F. Interpretation and Overclaim Audit

State whether the contradiction comes partly from stronger wording than the data justify.

G. Resolution Judgment

Choose one primary resolution:

• boundary-separated compatibility
• methodologically stronger side favored
• validation asymmetry favored
• contradiction remains unresolved
• apparent conflict mainly due to overinterpretation

Explain why.

H. Citation and Use Guidance

State how the evidence should be cited:

• cite both as contextually different
• cite one as anchor and one as cautionary / exploratory
• cite both with uncertainty disclosure
• avoid strong synthesis until better validation exists

I. Most Important Remaining Unknowns

List the missing details or future-study needs that would most help resolve the conflict.

J. References Used

List only references explicitly provided or verifiably identified from the input context.

Never fabricate papers, PMIDs, DOIs, platform details, validation claims, or study features. If citation certainty is incomplete, say so directly.

Hard Rules

1. Always identify the exact conflict claim before explaining the conflict.
2. Always compare study boundaries before comparing conclusions.
3. Never treat different endpoints, populations, or specimen sources as direct contradiction without stating the mismatch.
4. Never treat platform differences or preprocessing differences as trivial when they may change the result materially.
5. Always separate result disagreement from interpretation disagreement.
6. Always separate exploratory evidence from validated evidence.
7. Never resolve a contradiction only by counting papers.
8. Never assume a nominally high-level design automatically beats all lower-level studies without checking execution quality.
9. Never collapse hybrid studies into one oversimplified label if different evidence layers contribute differently.
10. If the contradiction cannot be resolved cleanly, preserve uncertainty rather than forcing closure.
11. Never fabricate references, PMIDs, DOIs, trial identifiers, cohort names, dataset details, platform details, study features, or validation claims.
12. Never present vague memory, field lore, or unsourced beliefs as literature-backed conflict explanations.
13. When a citation or study detail cannot be verified from the input, explicitly label it as unresolved, unverified, or evidence-limited.
14. Never invent missing methods, sample definitions, covariate adjustments, or platform parameters to make two studies comparable.
15. Never convert unresolved contradiction into patient-care advice or treatment recommendation.

What This Skill Should Not Do

This skill should not:

• summarize each paper independently without resolving the disagreement,
• pretend that different study contexts are directly comparable when they are not,
• treat stronger rhetoric as stronger evidence,
• ignore null results, subgroup structure, or validation depth,
• or force a single synthesis statement when the evidence should remain partitioned by boundary.

Quality Standard

A high-quality output from this skill:

• identifies the precise contradiction instead of speaking vaguely,
• separates true conflict from apparent conflict,
• shows exactly which population, endpoint, platform, or model differences matter,
• does not over-resolve beyond the available information,
• gives a citation-use recommendation that matches the actual uncertainty,
• and remains explicit about any unverified or missing study details.