Selected aspects of analysis of social networks based on communication by electronic mail in a public institution

Social Network Analysis (SNA) is based on the study of the structure, links and behaviour of specific units within social groups, represented in the form of vertices (referring to, for example, persons or organizations) and edges (defining interrelations or flow of information between these units). Among the network properties usually analysed one can indicate centrality, the number and strength of connections between vertices, or their transitivity. SNA can specify positions of selected units in a given network, their roles in the organization, or discover certain patterns in the relations between the units represented in the network. The observed constant development of information technologies, the widespread use of social networking sites, or the use of electronic communication tools in contacts between people, including between employees and/or groups of employees in an organization, suggests that a huge amount of data related to these activities is stored in various data repositories can provide interesting information about the people themselves as well as about the relationships between them. The work focuses on the analysis of the social network, created on the basis of communication of individuals by means of electronic mail in a public institution. Selected aspects related to the analysis of such a network were presented, in particular the basic features of such a network were identified, the relationships between individuals were examined, the hierarchy of users of such a social network was created, as well as exploration of data contained in such a network. Using the basic SNA measures, the most important vertices in the network are indicated. For the purpose of the experiment, the Pajek tool was used.