How can I Withdraw My Research Paper from the Conference?

research paper withdraw request
Table of Contents

Introduction

The procedure by which research paper writers choose to withdraw their submission from conference proceedings is known as research paper withdrawal from the conference.

Withdrawals of research papers are often made during the publishing process and are probably not allowed once the work has been included in the conference proceedings.

Writers can choose to remove their research articles from the conference for a number of different reasons. The organisers or the authors themselves may be to blame. In each case, the authors must work diplomatically to remove their research article from the conference proceedings without incurring any legal repercussions.

This blog post has identified and listed the various reasons for the research paper’s withdrawal from authors. It also identifies the stages at which the author asks for the withdrawal and explains its complexity. Finally, the article lists the templates that can be used by the various authors for writing withdrawal request letters.

Why an Author Intends to withdraw his Research Paper?

The phenomenon of paper withdrawal is not unusual in the scholarly community. There are several causes for a paper withdrawal. The following paragraphs list the reasons for the withdrawal of research papers.

Errors in the Submitted Research Paper

Because of tight deadlines, you might have submitted an article without performing adequate copy editing and proofreading. You might discover those embarrassingly foolish mistakes after submission. Writing a research paper is an art, and one needs to practice research paper writing to overcome such a critical situation. I usually advise getting your essay proofread by reputed companies that hire native English speakers.

Please visit my articles on How Grammarly Can Help You Write Research Articles with Confidence and Importance of Proofreading in Research Paper Writing. These articles will help you in writing error free research papers with confidence.

The Conference is of Poor Quality

The author will come to know about the quality of the conference after submitting the paper. The conference can be considered of poor quality because of the following reasons:

  • The conference has advisory committee members who are not well known
  • The conference does not have a proper website or paper submission mechanism
  • Research Papers are accepted directly without peer review
  • Reviews sent are too generic and in no way related to the paper under review

Inappropriate Charges for Proceedings Publication

Some conferences accept the research papers and then announce too-heavy charges for proceedings publications. Sometimes this charge is in addition to the conference registration charges.

Unacceptable Charges Extended Paper Publication in the Journal

Some conferences initially announce that they will publish the extended version of the research paper in a reputed Scopus-indexed journal. Later they ask for extra charges for the same.

Poor Event Management by the Organizers

After the research article has been registered, the editorial team leaves numerous details in the dark, making it impossible for any inquiries to get in touch with them.

Broken Promise Relating to Publication in Journal

Some conference organisers make the assurance that the research papers they receive will be published in a reputable IEEE/Scopus-indexed journal. But they eventually publish in a low-quality, expensive publication with no widespread database indexing.

Withdrawal Due to Funding Limitations

Some authors submit their research papers to conferences around the world in the hopes of receiving funding from the government or their parent organisation. The writers may be unable to obtain grants due to certain restrictions, and as a result, they are forced to withdraw the research paper from the conference.

Research Paper Withdrawal Stages

The next question is at what point in the submission process for your research article do you wish to remove the manuscript? Many writers think that once their research paper is submitted, it will become a part of the conference and they will be required to abide by its guidelines. However, there are procedures at different phases of research paper submission when an author can submit a letter to the organisers requesting to withdraw. When your aims are clear, this procedure will undoubtedly be successful. There are three phases in the withdrawal process for research papers.

Withdrawing the Research Paper Immediately After Submission

It is a simple procedure. The author may submit a request explaining why they are unable to proceed with the submission owing to some unforeseen circumstances. Sometimes the author will respectfully come out from the conference after raising concerns with the organisers about the conference’s calibre.

Withdrawing Research Paper After Acceptance by the Conference

As an author, you have already paid the registration fees and your research paper is considered for presentation. Certainly, you will not get your registration fees back. One option to come out of the conference is to send a request to the organizing team not to consider the research paper for presentation and subsequently for publication in the proceedings. Some conferences won’t publish proceedings if the author does not turn up for a presentation. This will be a boon for the author who wants to withdraw from the conference. The author can skip the presentation and can stop his publication.

Withdrawing a Research Paper After Sent for Publication

After the research paper is presented at the conference, the papers will be sent for publication in proceedings. Here withdrawal process is a bit difficult. The author has to make a genuine request to get his paper out of the conference proceedings. The reasons need to be compelling like the ones already stated above. Under any circumstances the organizers will not accept your request for withdrawal as your paper is accepted somewhere else. So check for other reasons where the conference has weaknesses and with that point make a withdrawal request.

Withdrawing Research Paper After Publication in Proceedings

After publication in the proceedings, it is really a tough task to get your paper out of the conference. Your paper will be part of the proceedings book. One can not reprint all the proceedings for one paper withdrawal. However, if the proceedings are in the E-Book format then the possibility of withdrawal still exists. Here the author has to make a genuine request.

Research Paper Withdrawal Request Letter Templates

Withdrawal letter due to Errors in the Submitted Paper

Dear Editor,

I have submitted my research work as a full-length research paper for your esteemed conference. However, due to oversight, I have submitted the draft copy without proofreading and copy editing. Hence, I would like to withdraw my research paper submission titled XXXX [Title of paper] from further consideration by your conference. I would also request you kindly permit me to resubmit my article. The submission ID is XXXX and the date of submission was XXXX. 

Please confirm that the withdrawal process is complete. I apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Sincerely,

PQR[ Contact Address of the Author]

Withdrawal Letter When the Conference is of Poor Quality

Dear Editor,

I want to withdraw my research paper submission titled XXXX [Title of paper] from further consideration by your conference. The submission ID is XXXX and the date of submission was XXXX. 

Please confirm that the withdrawal process is complete. I apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Sincerely,

PQR[ Contact Address of the Author]

Withdrawal Letter When the Conference Editors Demand Unacceptable Proceedings Printing Charges

Dear Editor,

I want to withdraw my research paper submission titled XXXX [Title of paper] from further consideration by your conference. This decision is due to the high charges for the publication of the proceedings and the same was not informed in the conference brochure. The submission ID is XXXX and the date of submission was XXXX. 

Please confirm that the withdrawal process is complete. I apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Sincerely,

PQR[ Contact Address of the Author]

Withdrawal Letter Due to Poor Communication from the Organizers

Dear Editor,

I am finding it really difficult to get in touch with organizers either through mail or phone regarding the conference updates. Hence, I would like to withdraw my research paper submission titled XXXX [Title of paper] from further consideration by your conference. The submission ID is XXXX and the date of submission was XXXX. 

Please confirm that the withdrawal process is complete. I apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Sincerely,

PQR[ Contact Address of the Author]

Withdrawal Letter Due to Broken Promise Relating to Publication in the Journal

Dear Editor,

I have made a research paper submission titled XXXX [Title of paper]  for consideration by your conference as it was publicized to be considered for publication in a reputed Scopus-indexed journal. Now I am finding that the same information is withdrawn from the conference website. Hence, I would like to withdraw my research paper submission from further consideration at your conference. The submission ID is XXXX and the date of submission was XXXX.

Please confirm that the withdrawal process is complete. I apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Sincerely,

PQR[ Contact Address of the Author]

Withdrawal Letter After Acceptance, due to Funding Limitations

Dear Editor,

I have made a research paper submission titled XXXX [Title of paper]  for consideration by your conference. However, due to funding constraints for travel and registration, I would like to withdraw my research paper submission from further consideration by your conference. The submission ID is XXXX and the date of submission was XXXX.

Please confirm that the withdrawal process is complete. I apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Sincerely,

PQR[ Contact Address of the Author]

Frequently Asked Questions

Difference between research paper withdrawal and paper retraction?

The time at which the paper withdrawal request was made makes the distinction between withdrawal and retraction. Before the article is published, a withdrawal is started (before or after peer review, during peer review or just before publication). Articles that have been published “ahead of print” or “in the press” may occasionally also be retracted. On the other hand, a retraction is only made after the article has been printed.

There will not be any legal implications if the withdrawal request is genuine. However, if the organizers find the author’s paper in any other conference or journal during the course of the decision they may drag the author to the court of law.

In case a paper is not withdrawn by the editor, what is the next course?

In case the organizers refuse to withdraw the paper, the author has to add a few more experiments and analyses to the work and can submit the work elsewhere.

Can I apply for the same conference where I withdrew my paper last year?

Yes. One can submit his/her research paper to the conference where he/she withdrew the paper last year. Here the reason for the last withdrawal must be genuine.

Whether withdrawing a research paper from a journal and withdrawing a research paper conference differ?

Withdrawing a research paper from a journal and withdrawing a research paper from a conference are two different processes.
While the process for withdrawing a paper from a journal involves contacting the editor-in-chief of the journal, submitting a written request for withdrawal .
The process for withdrawing a paper from a conference may vary depending on the specific conference. Some conferences may have a formal process for withdrawing a paper, while others may require authors to directly contact the conference organizers to request withdrawal.
I have written a detailed blog post on How to Withdraw a Research Paper from a Journal ?. Please visit the post for further details.

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Dr. Vijay Rajpurohit
Author: Dr. Vijay Rajpurohit
Dr. Vijay Rajpurohit is a researcher in Computer Science. He loves to educate researchers and research scholars on Research Paper Writing, Thesis Writing, Research Grants, Patenting Research Work and the latest Research-related issues. You can reach him @ [email protected]