A set index article (SIA) is a list article about a set of items of a specific type that also share the same (or similar) name. For example, Dodge Charger describes a set of cars, List of peaks named Signal describes a set of mountain peaks, and List of ships of the United States Navy named Enterprise describes a set 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 a set index (assuming of course that there are 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 . A set index article can be tagged with {{}}.
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 (or similar) name, formatted for best navigating the reader to the sought topic. A set index lists things of only one type and is meant to provide information as well as navigation. Just like a normal list article, it can have metadata and extra information about each entry. An SIA need not follow the formatting rules for disambiguation pages, although many SIAs do. Unlike disambiguation page guidelines, a SIA is allowed to contain red links to help editors create articles on notable entries.
Sometimes there will be a disambiguation page and a set index article for the same term. If the disambiguation page carries the name of the term (as with Signal Mountain), then the set index article should be named "List of XXXs named YYY" (as in List of peaks named Signal). Normally, if there is a choice between pointing the term at the set index page or the disambiguation page, the term should point to the disambiguation page (the broader category). In the rare case where the set index article is considered the primary topic, it may be named with just the term itself, the disambiguation page being called "YYY (disambiguation)".