Abstract:

Regarding many rivals, textbook is still the most essential medium in higher education. Whether having the traditional or post- modern attitude and or printed or electronic form, textbook follows educational goals. Various books have different scopes of effect and since, they are responsible for learning and establishing learning difficulties in students as well, it is also necessary to pay attention to the establishment of learning method when writing a textbook. On the other hand, having traditional attitude to write a textbook cannot respond the students need in present information world.
Despite writing very good books with high number of editions, since no definite criterion is available for textbooks, these books have not drawn the attention of critics and most of them are very far from standard textbooks.
In this qualitative study a literature review has been conducted on textbooks in order to gain access the target of the specifications of a desirable textbook.

In order to collect data, initially the researcher conducted the primary study and selected the related Keywords from data banks and articles. Then, the regional data banks, Ebsco, ERIC, ProQuest and SID were searched and a complete study was carried out using Google Scholar search engine by textbook keyword in two Persian and English languages. Later, all samples which were mentioned as a specification of textbook and or educational content were selected from all articles or E- books and those available in Iran book market and three ones bought from Amazon site (sample 119). Then, the articles were reviewed and each particular specification was written down on a separate sheet. If a new source again mentioned one of the pervious specifications, it was added on its own sheet and each new specification was added on a new sheet until all studies were reviewed. After terminating this step, the phase of data analysis was started using classification of data. At this step, data units (specifications) were compared in order to find repeating principles. The collection of data units were placed in a classification due to repeating rules and meaning and interpreting similarities and a title or name was selected for that classification based on its containing. The data analysis procedure was finally stopped after the action of description and interpretation, deduction and induction and objective and wresting movements, when obtained classifications were not capable to be more combined and included. At the end, 90 obtained classifications or specifications were divided into two groups and seven subgroups.