In 2014, we as UX practitioners might be widely aware that the validity of 'above the fold' is a myth.
However, the OP uses an interesting expression in the question by asking if the validity of 'above the fold' concept is a myth.
Therein lies an important distinction.
Is the myth that the fold has an effect, or that the fold even exists.
Equally - it's important not just to understand that 'Above the fold' is a myth, but why it's a myth.
Kissmetrics have an article about Why “The Fold” Is A Myth – And Where To Actually Put Your Calls To Action. In this article they make some very relevant observations, for example:
When it's said that only 20% of people read below the fold, that's because only 20% of people read past the headline. The fold is a red herring.
[on calls to action] "higher conversion rates have nothing to do with whether the button is above the fold, and everything to do with whether the button is below the right amount of good copy."
Users who want to scroll, will scroll. Users who don't have the motivation to scroll... well clearly you need to improve the motivation to scroll.
Consider instead this question:
How would you design a web page that would reduce the likelihood of users staying on the page and scrolling down?
Does this have answers? Of course it does, and plenty of them!
For every tactic that you can think of to stop users scrolling, then the more you do the opposite, the more you are enticing users to scroll down.
What I'm getting at here is if we let go of the baggage that comes with the term 'fold', and we accept that there is visible content and content below that, then we simply need to apply all the best practices that we have always done and just move on.
Is 'Above the fold' still relevant in 2014? No - it never was relevant, but through bad design, we can (unintentionally) put in all sorts of barriers that simply prevent users from subconsciously realizing that they can/should scroll.
Is good design still relevant in 2014? I don't think I need to answer that.
In short - we don't need to focus on this above the fold thing - we just need to focus on good content delivered in a well considered design. If we do that, user's won't even think about scrolling, they'll just do it naturally.
Footnote:
I'm often curious (or critical) of questions that ask for research. Does it matter if you find studies and research? What will you change if you find a study? Are you going to make changes to your design approach if you find a study that proves 'above the fold' is a thing, or not a thing? Does finding research satisfy curiosity, an argument, or does it dramatically change the content and design strategy of the product? If you're already using all the best practices you can, then what can you improve on?
I myself am guilty of asking questions in the past that ask for studies or research. Published research is all very good, but in retrospect, this was not because I really thought that the research might dramatically change what I do, but because it (might) make the question less likely to be closed as it shows I'm not just asking for opinions.
