論文發表之前（注意，是「之前」）作者主動發起的撤稿，稱為 withdraw（名詞：withdrawal）；稿件發布之後，作者或者期刊發起的撤稿都被稱作 retract（名詞：retraction）。
以下是《英文科技論文寫作100個常見錯誤》作者 Mriganka Awati 關於 withdraw 和 retract 的辨析。
Withdrawal: A withdrawal is an author-initiated action that happens before a manuscript is published. An author who has submitted a manuscript to a journal can withdraw the submission if he/she no longer wants the manuscript to be considered for publication by that journal. So, in other words, the author 「unsubmits」 the submission. A withdrawal is an author’s decision and, when it is warranted for strong reasons and done responsibly, it can have no negative effect on the author.
→ Withdrawal 是在稿件發表之前，由作者發起的動作。如果作者不想在某一本期刊繼續投稿，就可以選擇 withdraw。換言之，作者放棄投稿（unsubmit）。withdrawal 由作者決定，只要有充足的理由，負責地操作，不會對作者有負面的影響。Retraction: A retraction happens after a manuscript is published in a journal and can be initiated by the journal or the authors of the paper. The reason for retraction is the discovery/realization of any major flaws in the paper, which render the findings invalid or questionable. These flaws may be the result of honest errors or ethical misconduct on part of any of the authors. So, in other words, a published paper is publicly flagged as a paper that should be excluded from the existing literature on a research subject. A retraction—irrespective of who initiates it and whether the reason is honest error or misconduct—can cause anything from embarrassment to reputational/career damage to the author.→ Retraction 發生在稿件見刊之後，發起人有可能是作者，亦有可能是期刊。Retraction 的原因通常是發現（或意識到）論文有重大錯誤，導致研究發現無效或存疑。這些錯誤有可能是「無意的錯誤」（honest errors），也有可能是道德失範（ethical misconduct）。換言之，被撤稿的論文應該從文獻庫裡剔除。Retraction，無論由作者還是期刊發起，無論是「無意的錯誤」還是道德失範，都會讓作者面臨窘境，甚至對作者的聲譽，職業帶來不良影響。