This inquiry ascertained those environmental and personal variables that best predict publication output of liberal arts faculty in four-year and graduate insitutions. Data came from 7,484 faculty randomly selected on a national basis. Multiple Classification Analysis was used for hypothesis testing. Personal interest in research, frequent communication with colleagues elsewhere, high academic rank, status of the employing institution, teaching graduate students, and number of journal subscriptions are the best predictors (multiple R=.77). Tenure, sex, and pressure to publish contribute insignificantly to the variance. Intrinsic factors dominate extrinsic variables related to faculty productivity. (Author)