ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a guide to research strategies in the areas of social network analysis and social big data mining. The field of social network analysis arose from different scientific traditions and academic disciplines: American sociology, graph theory, contributions from the Manchester School of Anthropology and J. L. Moreno’s sociometry. The dissemination of conspiracy theories online usually occurs as a result of certain groups manipulating others into endorsing a specific agenda or spreading propaganda, disinformation or fake news. The information disseminated via social media networks can be inaccurate and misleading, containing false statements even at the level of small nuances. The use of social big data for social research enables the analysis of documents published on the Internet on an unprecedented scale. One of the potential advantages of using the content generated and disseminated through the Internet for research is its relevance for the study of various social and communication processes that accompany the dissemination of conspiracy theories.
