Motivation in university students: analyzes of theses and dissertations between 2000 and 2011

Abstract This study, documentary meta-analysis, refers to research conducted between the years 2000-2011, in view of reading about production on motivation in university students. The guiding question turns to the production of knowledge in a given period, evaluating what contributes or hinders the motivation of the students. The general objectives include the identification of the scientific production and knowledge of the profile of the publications in the chosen base (Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations) as well as the knowledge of the related aspects - promoters and barriers. The corpus consisted of summaries of theses and dissertations (17). There is, slightly, a greater number of dissertations in comparison to the theses, with concentration of studies (theoretical-empirical quantitative) in the state of São Paulo, coming from public institutions. The spectrum of theses and dissertations is probably larger than that analyzed in the consulted database. Contextual, personal and present issues in the teacher-student relationship are addressed, these elements related to motivation, sometimes favoring, sometimes hindering.