  [Context] Although software development is an inherently human activity,
research in software engineering (SE) has long focused mostly on processes and
tools, failing to recall about the human factors behind. Even when explored,
researchers typically do not properly use psychology background to better
understand human factors in SE, such as the psychometric instruments, which aim
to measure human factors. [Objective] Our goal is to provide a critical review
on the use of psychometric instruments in SE research regarding personality.
[Method] We present a two-step study. First, a systematic mapping of the
literature in order to generate a catalog of the psychometric instruments used;
second, a preliminary survey to be conducted with social sciences researchers
to assess their adoption in SE research. [Results and Conclusion] The results
so far are quite initial. The next steps direct us to finish the data
extraction to finalize the catalog (systematic mapping) and to refine the
survey design and apply it with social sciences researchers.
