Identifying and prioritizing the criteria for evaluating printed books in the field of medical sciences

It is very important to prepare a standard for evaluating printed books in order to measure the quality of books, before printing, in order to buy for the library and to study in the field of medical sciences. This research was conducted for this purpose in three phases. The first phase was an applied study in which the general criteria for evaluating books were extracted by literature review. In the second phase, the criteria for evaluating printed books in the field of medical sciences were extracted using interviews. At this phase, the content approach using MAXQDA software was used for analysis. In the third phase, according to the target group, three types of researcher-made questionnaires were used to collect data. In order to assess the priority of evaluation criteria, quantitative analysis of the questionnaire was performed using descriptive statistics. The results showed the criteria for evaluating printed textbooks in the field of medical sciences included seven areas, 35 criteria and 213 indicators. Criteria for evaluating printed non-textbooks in the field of medical sciences included eight areas, 32 criteria and 162 indicators. Criteria for evaluating printed reference books in the field of medical sciences included seven areas, 25 criteria and 129 indicators. Criteria for evaluating printed translated books in the field of medical sciences included two areas, six criteria and 21 indicators. The medical science book evaluation standard will be a very useful guide for publishers, librarians, students and professors of medicine to choose the best resources for their purpose.