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Retrieve Ambiguous Match Information

Source: R/fuzzy_match.R
get_ambiguous_matches.Rd

Extracts information about ambiguous matches (multiple candidates with tied distances) from matching results. This is useful for quality control and manual curation of uncertain matches.

Usage

get_ambiguous_matches(
  match_result,
  type = c("genus", "species", "infraspecies", "all"),
  save_to_file = FALSE,
  output_dir = tempdir()
)

Arguments

match_result

A tibble returned by matching functions such as matching_threatenedperu or internal matching functions.

type

Character. Type of ambiguous matches to retrieve:

  • "genus" (default): Ambiguous genus-level matches

  • "species": Ambiguous species-level matches

  • "infraspecies": Ambiguous infraspecies-level matches (includes level 2)

  • "all": All types of ambiguous matches

save_to_file

Logical. If TRUE, saves results to a CSV file. Default is FALSE (CRAN compliant - no automatic file writing).

output_dir

Character. Directory to save the file if save_to_file = TRUE. Defaults to tempdir() for safe file operations.

Value

A tibble with ambiguous match details, or NULL if no ambiguous matches exist. Columns depend on the match type but typically include original names, matched names, and distance metrics.

Details

During fuzzy matching, multiple candidates may have identical string distances, making the choice of match ambiguous. The matching algorithm automatically selects the first candidate, but this function allows you to:

  • Review all ambiguous matches for quality control

  • Export them for manual curation

  • Make informed decisions about match quality

File Output

When save_to_file = TRUE, a timestamped CSV file is created:

  • Filename format: "threatenedperu_ambiguous_[type]_[timestamp].csv"

  • Location: output_dir (defaults to tempdir())

  • Contains all ambiguous matches with metadata