A set index article (SIA) is a stand-alone list of a set of items of a specific type that also share the same (or similar) name. For example, Chevrolet Blazer lists a set of cars, List of peaks named Signal presents a set of mountain peaks as a table, and List of ships of the United States Navy named Enterprise is a table of a particular grouping of ships. Being a set of a specific type means that the members of the set have some characteristic in common, in addition to their similarity of name. A list is an SIA only if both criteria for inclusion of an item in the list are met. For example, every entry in a list of earthquakes might include the word "earthquake", but that alone does not mean that the list is an SIA. If earthquakes were assigned names similar to how tropical storms are named, then "List of earthquakes named X" could be an SIA (if there were multiple earthquakes with the same name). Fundamentally, a set index article is a type of list article. The criteria for creating, adding to, or deleting a set index article should be the same as for a stand-alone list. The style of a set index article should follow the style guidelines at Wikipedia:Stand-alone lists. A set index article can be tagged with {{Set index article}}. Notably, an SIA is not necessarily titled a "List": it could, for example, be titled as a partial disambiguation, e.g., Star (newspaper).
Set indexes and disambiguation
A set index article is not a disambiguation page:
A disambiguation page is a list of things (possibly of different types) that share the same name (or similar names). It is formatted to best help the reader in navigating to the topic being sought. A set index article lists things only of one type, and is meant to provide not only navigation, but information as well. Just as with a typical list article, it may have metadata and other extra information about any of its entries, in contrast to the guidelines of what not to include on disambiguation pages. A set index article (SIA) need not follow the MOS formatting rules for disambiguation pages; in contrast to many restrictions stated in the disambiguation page guidelines such as those regarding red links, an SIA may contain:
red links to help editors create articles on notable entries, and references (to document the respective bases for inclusion of entries in the list). Occasionally there is both a disambiguation page and a set-index article organized about the same term. If the disambiguation page bears the term as its title (as is the case with Signal Mountain), then the set index article can be named "List of XXXs named YYY"; the example of List of peaks named Signal is an example of this. If the circumstances allow a choice between having the (bare or unqualified) term link to a set-index page or to the disambiguation page, that term usually should be assigned as the disambiguation page's title because the disambiguation page type accommodates the widest variety of uses. (Nevertheless, in the rare cases where the set index article is considered the primary topic, it may be named with that term (without further qualification), with the disambiguation page accordingly being titled "YYY (disambiguation)" per guideline on disambiguation page naming.) A disambiguation page should not be reclassified as a set index article on the basis that its entries all happen to be instances of a single type, unless the page has metadata or extra information about its entries. As an example, Western State Hospital is, correctly, categorized as a disambiguation page even though each of the articles it links to is literally a hospital (rather than some other type of building – or legal entity, titled work, mental state, etc., ad infinitum).
Common selection criteria A set index article (a list of items of a specific type that share the same name, or sufficiently similar ones) may be one or more of the following:
Notable list: The list topic has been discussed as a group or set by independent reliable sources. The individual entries needn't be notable in themselves. (See WP:LISTN.) List of notable items: The list topic need not be notable in itself. Nevertheless, each of the items should be notable. Various red-linked entries are acceptable if the entry is verifiably a member of the listed group, and likely to have an article on the topic in the future. (See WP:CSC.) Short, complete list: The list includes every item that is verifiably a member of the group. It is reasonably short. It could be useful or interesting to readers. Its inclusion of items is supported by reliable sources. Lists in which no entry is notable are rarely appropriate. (See WP:CSC.) Refer to the relevant guidelines for further details.
Typical information
Tagging and categorizing an article as a set index article
Place one of the following templates at the bottom of the page, using the most specific template available. If there is no specific template, you can, as {{Set index article}} explains, use the most generic template with certain sort keys to more specifically categorize articles; the template's page also explains that you can use it to place pages into child categories of .
Generic {{Set index article}} for any set index article –
Geographic features {{Lake index}} for lakes – {{Mountain index}} for mountain names – {{River index}} for rivers – {{Road index}} for roads, streets, or highways –
Vehicles {{Locomotive index}} for locomotives – {{Ship index}} for ship names – For more information about set index articles for ships, see Wikipedia:WikiProject Ships/Guidelines § Index pages.
Other types of set index articles {{Sport index}} for sport names – {{Storm index}} for named storms – {{Surname}} for people's surnames – {{Given name}} for people's given names – {{Animal common name}} – {{Plant common name}} – {{Molecular formula index}} – {{Chemistry index}} for chemical species –
Related policies and guidelines A summary of related policies and guidelines is given below. Editors should ensure that any set index article is compatible with these policies and guidelines. Refer to the current versions of the policies and guidelines for details.
See also
Wikipedia:History of set index articles Wikipedia:Broad-concept article Wikipedia:Lists Wikipedia:Outlines Wikipedia:Stand-alone lists