Merging is the process of combining two or more records because they are identical or sufficiently similar to be considered duplicates. You merge records to consolidate duplicate data into a single entity (master entity) that represents the best version of the truth (BVT). Where attribute values differ, the retained values could be determined by different factors. For example, retained values could be determined based on the trust configuration for these records, or based on values supplied by a user who chose to edit the override value instead.