We investigated the effects of guided inquiry-based laboratory activities on the perceptions of the research skills and inquiry learning skills in science of 5th grade students. The sample of this study consisted of 38 students enrolled in a public secondary school located in the northwest part of Türkiye. This study is based on the non-equivalent control group pretest/posttest model of the quasi-experimental design. Data collection tools were a Research Skills Test, Scale of Inquiry Learning Skills Perception in Science, and a semi-structured interview form. We analyzed the quantitative data with the Mann-Whitney U test from nonparametric statistical methods and the qualitative data by using content analysis. We established a significant difference between the two groups' research skills and perception about the inquiry-based learning skills of science, in favor of the experimental group.