Framework for Persistent Discrepancies in Physics: A Diagnostic and Pre-Explanatory Methodological Approach

Persistent discrepancies in physics are often interpreted as indications of missing dynamics or the need for extensions beyond established theoretical frameworks. This work presents a diagnostic methodological framework designed to classify such discrepancies prior to explanatory or model-building efforts. The framework operates through a finite set of diagnostic cores, each addressing a specific structural source of mismatch between theoretical description and observational inference. It is explicitly pre-explanatory, non-ontological, and tolerant to failure, with failure treated as a valid outcome. The purpose of the framework is not to resolve physical problems, but to determine whether a given discrepancy, as formulated, legitimately demands further physical explanation. Exploratory applications to selected problems in cosmology, effective field theories, and particle physics are included for illustrative purposes only. This work is intended as a methodological filter and does not propose new physical models or modifications to existing theories.