撤稿，withdraw 和 retract 一样吗？

不一样。这两个词的有趣之处在于，中文里我们都说成“撤稿”，但实际上说的是两件事。简单概括：

论文发表之前（注意，是“之前”）作者主动发起的撤稿，称为 withdraw（名词：withdrawal）；稿件发布之后，作者或者期刊发起的撤稿都被称作 retract（名词：retraction）。

以下是《英文科技论文写作100个常见错误》作者 Mriganka Awati 关于 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 是在稿件发表之前，由作者发起的动作。如果作者不想在某一本期刊继续投稿，就可以选择 withdraw。换言之，作者放弃投稿（unsubmit）。withdrawal 由作者决定，只要有充足的理由，负责地操作，不会对作者有负面的影响。

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 发生在稿件见刊之后，发起人有可能是作者，亦有可能是期刊。Retraction 的原因通常是发现（或意识到）论文有重大错误，导致研究发现无效或存疑。这些错误有可能是“无意的错误”（honest errors），也有可能是道德失范（ethical misconduct）。换言之，被撤稿的论文应该从文献库里剔除。Retraction，无论由作者还是期刊发起，无论是“无意的错误”还是道德失范，都会让作者面临窘境，甚至对作者的声誉，职业带来不良影响。