Fred N. Kerlinger has been hailed as having contributed to the transformation of the way that behavioral scientists and educators read research reports, design and execute research, and draw conclusions about research. In 1960 he introduced the notion that educational research is fraught with mythology. Three of the research myths that he described were: "methods,""practicality," and "statistics." The methods myth is centered about the misperception that research design is synonymous with research methodology. In correct practice, researchers should be more concerned with determining the methods of observation, measurement, and analysis that will help in developing and testing theory. The practicality myth is characterized by a preoccupation with the usefulness (payoff) when designing, conducting, or evaluating research. The actual objective of educational research is the advancement of theory. The statistics myth, although not precisely defined by Kerlinger, appears to relate to a fundamental disregard for statistics as an informational and methodological tool and a failure to understand that research design and statistical analysis are intimately related. Thoughtful researchers must move beyond these myths to conduct appropriate research and interpret it correctly. (Contains 16 references.) (SLD)